Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg

Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, painted as crown prince by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1520
Spouse(s)	Magdalena of Saxony Hedwig of Poland
Noble family	House of Hohenzollern
Father	Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg
Mother	Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden
Born	(1505-01-13)13 January 1505 Cölln
Died	3 January 1571(1571-01-03) (aged 65) Köpenick Palace

Joachim II (German: Joachim II Hector or Hektor; 13 January 1505 – 3 January 1571) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1535–1571), the sixth member of the House of Hohenzollern. Joachim II was the eldest son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. He received the cognomen Hector after the Trojan prince and warrior for his qualities and prowess.

Joachim II was born in Cölln.

His father, Joachim I Nestor, made Joachim Hector sign an inheritance contract in which he promised to remain Roman Catholic. This was intended in part to assist Joachim Nestor's younger brother, the Archbishop-Elector Albert of Mainz. Albert had borrowed huge amounts from the banking house of Fugger in order to pay the Holy See for his elevation to the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt and for a dispensation permitting him to hold both the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and Archbishopric of Mainz.

Joachim Nestor, who had co-financed this accumulation of offices, agreed to let Albert recover these costs by the sale of indulgences to his subjects. Joachim's neighbor, Elector John Frederick I of Saxony, forbade the sale of indulgences, because Albert had outbid his candidate for the see of Mainz, but also on principle, being persuaded by his subject Martin Luther. Thus repayment of the debt to the Fugger depended on the sale of indulgences to Catholic believers in Brandenburg. However, had Joachim Hector not agreed to this, he would likely have been passed over in the line of inheritance.