Valdemar Birgersson (1239 – 26 December 1302), also known as Waldemar, was King of Sweden from 1250 to 1275. A member of the House of Bjälbo, he was the eldest son of Birger Jarl and Ingeborg Eriksdotter. He was elected king following the death of his maternal uncle, Erik Eriksson, in 1250, while still a minor. During the early part of his reign, political power was largely exercised by his father. After Birger Jarl's death in 1266, Valdemar ruled independently. He was deposed in 1275 by his younger brother Magnus Ladulås, who succeeded him as king.
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Biography
Valdemar was the son of Birger Jarl, of the House of Bjälbo, and the Swedish princess Ingeborg Eriksdotter, daughter of King Erik Knutsson. Through his mother, Valdemar was a descendant of the House of Erik and a great-great-grandson of Saint Erik. When his maternal uncle, King Erik Eriksson, died without issue in 1250, Valdemar was elected king, his maternal descent from the former royal dynasty strengthening his claim to the throne. He was crowned at Linköping in 1251. As Valdemar was still a minor, Birger Jarl became the effective ruler of the kingdom and retained this position even after Valdemar reached adulthood, until Birger's death in 1266. Valdemar thereafter exercised royal authority independently.
After Birger's death in 1266 Valdemar eventually came into conflict with his younger brother Magnus Birgersson (later known as Magnus Ladulås), Duke of Södermanland, over taxation and personal matters.
In 1260, Valdemar married Sophia, the eldest daughter of King Eric IV of Denmark and Jutta of Saxony. Valdemar also had a relationship with his sister-in-law Jutta. In 1272, Princess Jutta visited Sweden and became Valdemar's mistress. The affair resulted in a child born in 1273. The following year, Jutta was placed in a convent and Valdemar was forced to make a pilgrimage to Rome to ask for the absolution of Pope Gregory X.