Speaker of the Riksdag | |
---|---|
Riksdagens talman | |
The Riksdag | |
Style | Swedish: Herr talman (English: "Mr Speaker") |
Seat | Parliament House |
Nominator | Riksdag |
Appointer | The Alderman |
Term length | Four years ( de facto ) |
Inaugural holder | Henry Allard |
Formation | 1617 |
Deputy | See List of Deputy Speakers |
Salary | 2,112,000 kr annually [1] |
Website | www |
The speaker of the Riksdag (Swedish : Riksdagens talman) is the presiding officer of the national unicameral legislature in Sweden.
The Riksdag underwent profound changes in 1867, when the medieval Riksdag of the Estates was abolished. The new form of the Riksdag included two elected chambers, each with its own speaker. Since the de facto introduction of parliamentarism in 1917, the Riksdag has properly functioned as the institution to which the prime minister and the government are held accountable. In 1971 the institution was transformed into a unicameral legislature with 350 members, reduced to 349 in 1976 to avoid parliamentary deadlocks. Since 1975, in accordance with the Instrument of Government of 1974, it is the speaker and no longer the monarch who appoints and dismisses the prime minister.
The current speaker is Andreas Norlén, who has held the gavel since September 2018. [2]
The speaker is the head and presiding officer of the Riksdag, and is elected by the chamber as the first order of business when the Riksdag re-convenes following a general election. As such, the speaker coordinates the work that takes place in the Riksdag. The office is mandated in the Swedish constitution and the duties of the office are set out in the Instrument of Government (1974) and the Riksdag Act.
The speaker themselves does not take part in debates, nor do they participate in the parliamentary committees. Consequently, they have no vote, and a substitute is appointed to fill his or her seat in the Riksdag during their time in office. While the speaker is still one of the elected representatives of the Riksdag, they are expected to remain unbiased and objective with regards to the political issues that are debated.
In terms of official protocol, the position of speaker is the second highest-ranked public position in Sweden. Only the monarch outranks the speaker since the monarch is the head of state. Additionally, the speaker nominally outranks the prime minister of Sweden, even though (since the 1974–75 reforms) that person is the country's de jure and de facto chief executive. [3]
One of the more important aspects of the work of the speaker is to head negotiations concerning the forming of a new government in case there is a shift of power after an election. The speaker can then dismiss a prime minister who is voted out of office, which happened for the first time on 25 September 2018. [4] After the negotiations, the speaker proposes the new prime ministerial candidate to the chamber, and following a positive vote, the speaker signs the commission (Swedish : förordnande) on behalf of the Riksdag. The prime minister appoints and dismisses their own cabinet ministers, forming the government (Swedish : Regeringen), without the involvement of the speaker. [3] [5]
In case of either a voluntary resignation or a vote of no confidence, the letter of resignation of a prime minister is handed to the speaker.
In most other parliamentary systems, including other constitutional monarchies, these duties are instead handled by the head of state. Relieving the Swedish monarch of political powers, although not the key objective from the outset, nevertheless became an important part of constitutional reform in the 1970s.[ according to whom? ]
The speaker also attends the special change-of-government council held at the Stockholm Palace following the appointment of a new prime minister. During these meetings the speaker informs the monarch on the procedure of forming the incoming government. The monarch then announces the change of government. [6]
The speaker is assisted by three deputy speakers who are also elected by the chamber. [7] Traditionally, the second, third and fourth largest parties gets to name of one of their members for these offices. There is some disagreement whether the largest party or the leading party of the largest party bloc should hold the speakership (and thus also the position of First Deputy Speaker). Unlike the Speaker (and cabinet ministers), the deputy Speakers are not replaced by an alternate and remain members of the Riksdag with voting rights. [7]
In case all adult members of the Swedish royal family who are in the line of succession to the throne, as prescribed in the Act of Succession, are out of the country, the speaker assumes the role of Regent ad interim (Swedish : Riksföreståndare). This would also be the case if they were all to decease.
Below are listed all speakers who have acted as Regent ad interim:
The speaker chairs the Riksdag Board (Swedish : Riksdagsstyrelsen), which deliberates on the organisation of the work of the Riksdag, directs the work of the Riksdag Administration (Swedish : Riksdagsförvaltningen) and decides upon matters of major significance concerning the international contacts programme.
The speaker chairs the War Delegation (Swedish : Krigsdelegationen), when it is deemed necessary to convene.
Portrait | Speaker (Born-Died) | Term | Political Party | Election | Constituency | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Duration | ||||||
Henry Allard (1911–1996) | 15 January 1971 | 1 October 1979 | 8 years, 259 days | Social Democrats | 1970 1973 1976 | Örebro County | ||
Ingemund Bengtsson (1919–2000) | 1 October 1979 | 3 October 1988 | 9 years, 2 days | Social Democrats | 1979 1982 1985 | Halland County | ||
Thage G. Peterson (born 1933) | 3 October 1988 | 30 September 1991 | 2 years, 362 days | Social Democrats | 1988 | Stockholm County | ||
Ingegerd Troedsson (1929–2012) | 30 September 1991 | 3 October 1994 | 3 years, 3 days | Moderate | 1991 | Uppsala County | ||
Birgitta Dahl (1937–2024) | 3 October 1994 | 30 September 2002 | 7 years, 362 days | Social Democrats | 1994 1998 | Uppsala County | ||
Björn von Sydow (born 1945) | 30 September 2002 | 2 October 2006 | 4 years, 2 days | Social Democrats | 2002 | Stockholm County | ||
Per Westerberg (born 1951) | 2 October 2006 | 29 September 2014 | 7 years, 362 days | Moderate | 2006 2010 | Södermanland County | ||
Urban Ahlin (born 1964) | 29 September 2014 | 24 September 2018 | 3 years, 360 days | Social Democrats | 2014 | Västra Götaland County | ||
Andreas Norlén (born 1973) | 24 September 2018 | Incumbent | 6 years, 65 days | Moderate | 2018 2022 | Östergötland County |
Historical predecessor
The politics of Sweden take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the government, led by the Prime Minister. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, elected within a multi-party system. The judiciary is independent, appointed by the government and employed until retirement. Sweden is formally a monarchy with a monarch holding symbolic power.
The Riksdag is the parliament and the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members, elected proportionally and serving, since 1994, fixed four-year terms. The 2022 Swedish general election is the most recent general election.
The prime ministerof Sweden is the head of government of the Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to the Parliament of Sweden. The prime minister is nominated by the speaker of the Riksdag and is elected by the chamber by simple majority, using negative parliamentarianism. The Riksdag holds elections every four years, in the even year between leap years.
Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson is a Swedish politician who has been serving as the 35th prime minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since October 2017 and a member of parliament (MP) for Södermanland County since 2014 and for Stockholm County from 1991 to 2000. He previously served as Minister for Social Security from 2010 to 2014 and as Chairman of the Moderate Youth League from 1988 to 1992.
The deputy prime minister of Sweden is the deputy head of government of Sweden. The incumbent deputy prime minister is Ebba Busch.
Kenneth Gustaf Forslund is a Swedish social democratic politician who has been a member of the Swedish Riksdag since 2002 and First Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag since 2022. Prior to taking the latter office, Forslund headed the Riksdag Foreign Policy Committee, and was the spokesperson on foreign aid and foreign policy in the Social Democratic party.
Per Olof Andreas Norlén is a Swedish politician and member of the Moderate Party who has served as Speaker of the Riksdag since September 2018. He has been a member of parliament (MP) for Östergötland County since October 2006. Norlén has previously been a member of the Committee on the Constitution, 2014–2018 as chair of the committee.
General elections were held in Sweden on 9 September 2018 to elect the 349 members of the Riksdag. Regional and municipal elections were also held on the same day. The incumbent minority government, consisting of the Social Democrats and the Greens and supported by the Left Party, won 144 seats, one seat more than the four-party Alliance coalition, with the Sweden Democrats winning the remaining 62 seats. The Social Democrats' vote share fell to 28.3 percent, its lowest level of support since 1911.
Kjell Stefan Löfven is a Swedish politician who has served as the President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden from October 2014 to November 2021 and leader of the Social Democratic Party from 2012 to 2021.
The first cabinet of Stefan Löfven was the cabinet of Sweden between 2014 and 2018. It was a coalition government, consisting of two parties: the Social Democrats and the Green Party. The cabinet was installed on 3 October 2014, following the 2014 general election. It lost a vote of no confidence following the 2018 election, but remained in office as a caretaker government. Löfven was reelected as Prime Minister in January 2019, thus forming the second cabinet of Stefan Löfven.
General elections were held in Sweden on 11 September 2022 to elect the 349 members of the Riksdag who in turn elected the Prime Minister of Sweden. Under the constitution, regional and municipal elections were also held on the same day. The preliminary results presented on 15 September showed the government parties lost their majority, which were confirmed by the final results published on 17 September. After a month of negotiations following the elections that led to the Tidö Agreement among the right-wing bloc, Moderate Party (M) leader Ulf Kristersson was elected prime minister on 17 October. The Kristersson cabinet is a minority government of the Moderates, Christian Democrats (KD) and Liberals (L) that relies on confidence and supply from the Sweden Democrats (SD).
In the 2018 Swedish general election, no political group or party won an outright majority, resulting in a hung parliament. On 9 September, the Red-Greens, led by Stefan Löfven's Social Democrats (S), emerged as the main political force in the Riksdag, while the centre-right Alliance led by Ulf Kristersson's Moderate Party only got one seat less. The right-wing populist party Sweden Democrats, led by Jimmie Åkesson, came third. As a result, protracted negotiations were required before a new government formation. On 18 January 2019, Löfven was re-elected as prime minister.
Events of 2019 in Sweden
The Committee on the Constitution (KU) is a parliamentary committee in the Swedish Riksdag. The committee's responsibilities include examining issues relating to the Swedish Constitution and Administrative laws, as well as examining the Prime Minister's performance of duties and the handling of government matters. The committee's activities are regulated by the Riksdag.
Members of Parliament in Sweden sit in the Riksdag.
A government crisis began on 21 June 2021 in Sweden after the Riksdag ousted Prime Minister Stefan Löfven with a no-confidence vote. This was the first time in Swedish history a Prime Minister was ousted by a no-confidence vote. After winning the 2014 Swedish general election, the Löfven II Cabinet's government budget was rejected by the Riksdag, causing a government crisis that lasted for nearly a month. The 2021 government crisis was the second government crisis suffered by a Löfven cabinet. The vote was called on 17 June 2021 by the Sweden Democrats after the Swedish Left Party withdrew support for Löfven over rent control reform, which is an important issue for many voters.
The third cabinet of Stefan Löfven was the government of Sweden during 9 July 2021 to 30 November 2021. It was a coalition, consisting of two parties: the Social Democrats and the Green Party. The cabinet was installed on 9 July 2021, during a formal government meeting with King Carl XVI Gustaf. The government was the result of the aftermath of the 2021 government crisis, which saw Löfven's government removed from power in a vote of no-confidence over proposed reforms to liberalise the rent control system.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven tendered his resignation on 10 November 2021, leaving his government in place as a caretaker cabinet until a new Prime Minister is elected by the Riksdag. Government formation talks commenced the following day with Magdalena Andersson, the newly-elected head of the Social Democratic party offering to lead a government. She was formally nominated to form a government by the Speaker of the Riksdag, Andreas Norlén later the same day. It was the third government formation process since the 2018 general election, the first taking a record 144 days before the formation of Löfven's second cabinet. The process took place just ten months ahead of the 2022 general election.
The Andersson cabinet was the government of Sweden following the resignation of Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and the hasty election of Magdalena Andersson as his successor. It was expected to be a coalition government consisting of two parties: the Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Green Party. In a late turn of events after the confirmation vote, the Green Party left the government cooperation due to the government's budget proposal failing in the Riksdag. The cabinet were originally planned to be installed on 26 November 2021 during a formal government meeting with King Carl XVI Gustaf, but Andersson decided to resign due to a precedent regarding changes in a government's composition; this happened just seven hours after the vote in the Riksdag. The Speaker then set Andersson up for a new confirmation vote to make sure she still had the Riksdag's approval.
The Kristersson cabinet is the 57th government of Sweden and is formed by Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party. It is a coalition government consisting of three parties: the Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals. The cabinet works closely with the Sweden Democrats, in accordance with the Tidö Agreement backed by a majority in the Riksdag.