May 12, c. 1496
Uppland, Sweden
1560
Stockholm, Sweden

King, rebel

Gustav I Vasa is considered the founder of the modern Swedish nation. During the Protestant Reformation he adopted Lutheranism as the state religion. He was also the first European ruler to form a national citizens' army, and he developed the Swedish navy into a major maritime (sea) power. Abandoning the tradition of electing a king, he established a hereditary monarchy that resulted in a Vasa dynasty (line of rulers from the same family). During his thirty-seven-year reign, Gustav I consolidated Sweden's independence and laid the foundation for the country's greatness in the next century.