Ullsten cabinet

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Ullsten cabinet
Flag of Sweden.svg
43rd Cabinet of Sweden
Stig Kjell Olof Ullsten.jpg
Prime Minister Ola Ullsten
Date formed18 October 1978
Date dissolved12 October 1979
People and organisations
Monarch
 Carl XVI Gustaf
Prime Minister
 Ola Ullsten
Member party
   People's Party
Status in legislature
Single-party minority
with flexible support from    Social Democrats and    Centre Party [1]
Opposition parties
   Moderate Party
   Left Party – the Communists
Opposition leader
 Olof Palme (S)
History
Incoming formation
 Nuclear power discord
Outgoing formation
1979 election
Election 1979 election
Legislature term1976–1979
Predecessor Fälldin I
Successor Fälldin II

The Ullsten cabinet (Swedish : regeringen Ullsten) was the government of Sweden from 18 October 1978 to 12 October 1979. It was a People's Party single-party minority government led by Prime Minister Ola Ullsten. It was the first People's Party led cabinet in Sweden since the cabinet of Felix Hamrin in 1932 and is the last time the party held the office of Prime Minister (as of October 2026). [2]

Contents

The previous coalition Fälldin I cabinet had resigned due to disagreements over nuclear power policy. [3] Ullsten was asked to form a minority government by the Speaker of the Riksdag after several failed attempts to form an active/inactive majority cabinet. [4] The cabinet resigned following the 1979 general election to make way for the coalition majority of Fälldin II. [2]

Ministers

PortfolioMinisterTook officeLeft officeParty
Prime Minister 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Deputy Prime Minister 18 October 197812 October 1979  Independent
Minister for Foreign Affairs 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister of Economics/Minister for the Budget 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Education 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Justice 18 October 197812 October 1979  Independent
Minister for Health and Social Affairs 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Employment 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Agriculture 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Defence 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Communications 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Physical Planning and Local Government 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Housing 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Enterprise 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister of Commerce and Industry 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Migration and Gender Equality 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Energy 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party
Minister for Schools 18 October 197812 October 1979  People's Party

Policy

Nuclear power policy

The Swedish nuclear energy program had been enacted by the Riksdag in 1975 which entailed an expansion to 13 nuclear power plants in total by 1985. The Riksdag had also decided that energy policy was to be re-evaluated in 3 years and that the safety of nuclear power was to be investigated. The previous Fälldin I cabinet had instated a committee with the task of evaluating nuclear safety. Minister for Energy Carl Tham was working on drafting a government bill regarding energy policy, with Social Democrats' Ingvar Carlsson and Birgitta Dahl following his work closely. Both the Social Democratic and Moderate parties held positive views regarding nuclear power and it was assumed that the government would not have any difficulties passing the bill.

However, everything changed following the Three Mile Island accident. While Olof Palme, the Social Democratic leader, had criticized the Fälldin I cabinet for unnecessarily delaying the expansion of nuclear power in the past, Palme and his party did a complete turn-around on the issue, demanding a popular referendum to decide the future of nuclear power on 4 April 1979. [5] During the remainder of the spring, the parties discussed how a popular referendum was to be performed and what choices voters would have. Eventually, it was decided that voters would be able to pick three choices, all of which revolved around abolishing nuclear power at various rates (see 1980 Swedish nuclear power referendum).

Economic policy

Ingemar Mundebo, serving as Minister for the Economy and the Budget, led efforts to draft a proposal aimed at reducing the marginal tax rate and implementing an upper tax limit. The government anticipated the proposal would succeed with backing from the Centre Party and Moderates. However, in the spring of 1979, the Centre Party opposed the bill due to concerns over financial inconsistencies in its funding. As a result, the legislation failed to pass.

Foreign policy

In December 1978 it was revealed that while Sweden was supporting the East Timor independence movement, the government was simultaneously allowing the export of arms to the occupying Indonesian forces. The Minister of Commerce and Industry Hadar Cars stated that this was completely allowed.

Other

The government also managed to pass several reforms, such as increased parental insurance, corporate tax reforms, and a new education plan (Lgr80). [6] Child corporal punishment was legally abolished during the reign of the Ullsten cabinet. [7]

References

  1. ↑ Thürk, Maria (2026). "Minoritetsregeringar och regeringsfrågan inför valet 2026" (PDF). Ekonomisk Debatt (in Swedish). 54 (3): 81. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Statsministerämbetet". Government Offices of Sweden (in Swedish). 17 March 2026. Archived from the original on 20 October 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  3. ↑ Höglund, Jan (19 June 2021). "Regeringskriser genom tiderna". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "När Ullsten bildade regering". gd.se (in Swedish). 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  5. ↑ Peterson, Thage G. (2002). Olof Palme som jag minns honom. Stockholm: Bonnier. ISBN   91-0-058042-2.
  6. ↑ "Ullsten: »Allting vi gjorde var smartare«". Fokus (in Swedish). 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  7. ↑ "Sverige först i världen med förbud av barnaga". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
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