Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg

Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg
Portrait of Duke Albert II of Mecklenburg
Spouse(s)	Euphemia of Sweden Adelheid of Hohenstein
Noble family	House of Mecklenburg
Father	Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg
Mother	Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg
Born	c. 1318
Died	18 February 1379(1379-02-18)

Albert II (Albrecht II) Duke of Mecklenburg (c. 1318 – 18 February 1379) was a feudal lord in Northern Germany on the shores of the Baltic Sea. He reigned as the head of the House of Mecklenburg. His princely seat was located in Schwerin beginning in the 1350s.

Albert was born in Schwerin as the second (but eldest surviving) son of Lord Henry II of Mecklenburg (c. 1266-1329), Lord of Stargard (Stari Gard), of the old Vendic princely clan of the Obotrites, and his second wife Princess Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg (d. 1327), of the princely Ascanian House.

Duke Albert succeeded his father as reigning Prince (or Lord) of Mecklenburg in 1329. He was also keenly interested in obtaining influence in Scandinavia, e.g. fiefs or income. The Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund elevated Mecklenburg to the status of a Duchy on 1 July 1347, through which Albert (together with his younger brother John) became the first Duke of Mecklenburg.

On 10 April 1336, Albert married a kinswoman, the Scandinavian heiress Euphemia of Sweden and Norway. Her father was Eric of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland and Halland, her mother was Princess Ingeborg of Norway, the heiress and the only legitimate daughter of King Haakon V of Norway. Through this marriage, Albert gained standing in Sweden by means of his wife's hereditary estates and ancestral connections. These enabled him to participate in the internal politics of Scandinavia. Albert acquired the nickname "The Fox of Mecklenburg" from the Swedes to evoke his scheming and avarice.