He was born around
1440, the son of Gustav Anundsson of the
Sture family and Birgitta Stensdotter Bielke, half-sister of the future
Charles VIII. He was married to
Ingeborg Tott in
1467; she was a renaissance personality interested in theology and science and seemed to have had some importance in the intellectual development during his reign, but the marriage remained childless. According to genealogical research, Sten Sture's father descended from King
Sverker II of Sweden (both through family of Vinga and through family of Aspenäs).
At the
Battle of Brunkeberg in
1471, he triumphed against Swedish and
Danish forces in the support of
Christian I. This victory elevated Sture to the position of a national savior. The sculpture
St. George and the Dragon created by the German sculptor
Bernt Notke in
Storkyrkan in
Stockholm was raised to commemorate the battle.
He came to power after the death of
Charles VIII and consolidated his position through the victory of Brunkeberg. For a quarter of a century he ruled Sweden making the regency almost an office in its own right. He was supported by the
peasantry and the lower nobility, wisely playing them out against the high-ranked nobility and managing a clever act of balance towards the Danish demands of reunion. He was forced to resign upon
King John’s rapid conquest of Sweden in
1497 and was pardoned. However, during the next rebellion against the Danes in
1501, he again took office, leading the Swedish struggle for independence until his death.
His closest relatives and heirs were his deceased sister's, the House of
Vasa. His great-nephew the future King
Gustav I of Sweden had been born a few years before Sten's death. At the time, however, none of them were members of the experienced political elite of Sweden. Regent Sten was succeeded by his colleague from the
Privy Council of Sweden and former enemy
Svante Nilsson as regent.
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