# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/john-iii-of-sweden
# Generated: 2026-08-31T16:54:54.328Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/john-iii-of-sweden"
name: "John III of Sweden"
slug: "john-iii-of-sweden"
description: "A Swedish king who took the throne by overthrowing his own brother — then may have had him killed. John III spent his reign trying to stitch Lutheran Sweden back to Rome while fighting wars on two fronts and installing his son on the Polish throne."
tagline: "Swedish king (1537-1592)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/John_III_of_Sweden.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Sweden"
  isoCode: "SE"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "1537-12-20"
deathDate: "1592-11-17"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           55.78
  momentum:             1.020675821632464
  historical:           23.18092666666667
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Historical Figure"
    slug: "historical-figure"
  - name: "Royalty"
    slug: "royalty"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Sweden"
    slug: "sweden"
  - name: "Europe"
    slug: "europe"
  - name: "Early Modern Era"
    slug: "early-modern-era"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q52944"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_III_of_Sweden"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/John%20III%20of%20Sweden"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%DB%86%DA%86%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%88_%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86_(%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%A6%D8%AF)"
    title: "اۆچونجو یوهان (سوئد)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%AE%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BD_III"
    title: "Юган III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%AE%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD_III"
    title: "Юхан III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%99%D0%BE%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD_III_(%D0%A8%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F)"
    title: "Йохан III (Швеция)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC_%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%A8_(%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%A1%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8)"
    title: "তৃতীয় জন (সুইডেন)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_III"
    title: "Johan III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_III%2C_kralj_%C5%A0vedske"
    title: "Ivan III, kralj Švedske"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_III_de_Su%C3%A8cia"
    title: "Joan III de Suècia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_III._%C5%A0v%C3%A9dsk%C3%BD"
    title: "Jan III. Švédský"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_3._af_Sverige"
    title: "Johan 3. af Sverige"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_III._(Schweden)"
    title: "Johann III. (Schweden)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%99%CF%89%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%93%CE%84_%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%A3%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B7%CE%B4%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%82"
    title: "Ιωάννης Γ΄ της Σουηδίας"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johano_la_3-a_(Svedio)"
    title: "Johano la 3-a (Svedio)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_III_de_Suecia"
    title: "Juan III de Suecia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_III"
    title: "Johan III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_III.a_Suediakoa"
    title: "Joan III.a Suediakoa"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%85"
    title: "یوهان سوم"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juhana_III"
    title: "Juhana III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_III_(roi_de_Su%C3%A8de)"
    title: "Jean III (roi de Suède)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9F_%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%99%2C_%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9A_%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%95%D7%93%D7%99%D7%94"
    title: "יוהאן השלישי, מלך שוודיה"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_III._Vasa"
    title: "Ivan III. Vasa"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/III._J%C3%A1nos_sv%C3%A9d_kir%C3%A1ly"
    title: "III. János svéd király"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jan_III_Waza"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB"
    title: "يوهان الثالث"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA"
    title: "يوهان التالت"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  John was born in 1537, son of Gustav I and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud, which made him half-brother to Erik XIV and full brother to the future Charles IX. He served as Duke of Finland from 1556, then led a rebellion that toppled Erik in 1569 and put himself on the Swedish throne — Erik's death followed under murky circumstances. His marriage to Catherine Jagiellon tied him to the Polish–Lithuanian dynasty; their son Sigismund would eventually rule both kingdoms. John ended the Northern Seven Years' War but dragged Sweden into a quarter-century struggle with Russia that brought minor territorial gains. Throughout his reign he pushed against the Lutheran current, attempting reunion with Rome over the resistance of his brother Duke Charles. He took the title Grand Duke of Finland in 1581. After Catherine's death in 1583, he remarried Gunilla Bielke in 1585. He died in 1592, having moved Sweden closer to Poland but no closer to the Pope.