Sigrid Sture

Who was Sigrid Sture?

Sigrid Svantesdotter Sture, was a Swedish noble, Governor of Stranda Hundred from 1577 to 1613.

She was the daughter of Svante Stensson Sture and Märta Erikdotter Leijonhufvud, thereby the niece of queen Margaret Leijonhufvud and the granddaughter of regent Christina Gyllenstierna. She married to Ture Pedersson Bielke and became the mother of Svante Turesson Bielke. After the death of her husband in 1577, she succeeded him as royal governor of Stranda hundred. This was an unusual position for a person of her gender in 16th century Sweden, and one she kept until her death over 30 years later. She was, however, not allowed to rule formally, but was forced to appoint male proxies to officially rule in her place.