Gustav II Adolf (9 December 1594 – 6 November 1632,
O.S.); widely known in English by his
Latinised name
Gustavus Adolphus or as
Gustav II Adolph, or as
Gustavus Adolphus the Great (, , a formal posthumous distinction passed by the
Riksdag of the Estates in 1634); was the
King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632 and is credited as the founder of
Sweden as a Great Power . He led
Sweden to military supremacy during the
Thirty Years War, helping to determine the political as well as the religious balance of power in Europe.