John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev

Hans the Elder was the only Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev. The predicate the Elder is used to distinguish him from his nephew, Hans the Younger, who held Sønderborg from 1564 as a partitioned-off duke. He ruled the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein jointly with his brother Duke Adolf, and his half-brother, King Christian III of Denmark and his successor, King Frederick II.