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 of Sweden. 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 king holding symbolic power.
Gösta Ingvar Carlsson is a Swedish politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Sweden, first from 1986 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 1996. He was leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1986 to 1996. He is best known for leading Sweden into the European Union.
Gustaf V was King of Sweden from 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Reigning from the death of his father, Oscar II, in 1907 to his own death 43 years later, he holds the record of being the oldest monarch of Sweden and the third-longest rule, after Magnus IV and Carl XVI Gustaf. He was also the last Swedish monarch to exercise his royal prerogatives, which largely died with him, although they were formally abolished only with the remaking of the Swedish constitution in 1974. He was the first Swedish king since the High Middle Ages not to have a coronation and so never wore the king's crown, a practice that has continued ever since.
The Basic Laws of Sweden are the four fundamental laws of the Kingdom of Sweden that regulate the Swedish political system, acting in a similar manner to the constitutions of most countries. These are the Instrument of Government, the Freedom of the Press Act, the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression and the Act of Succession. Together, they constitute a basic framework that stands above other laws and regulation, and also define which agreements are themselves above normal Swedish law.
The Riksdag is the national legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members, elected proportionally and serving, from 1994 onwards, on fixed four-year terms.
The monarchy of Sweden concerns the monarchical head of state of Sweden, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. There have been kings in what now is the Kingdom of Sweden since time immemorial. Originally an elective monarchy, it became an hereditary monarchy in the 16th century during the reign of Gustav Vasa, though virtually all monarchs before that belonged to a limited and small number of families which are considered to be the royal dynasties of Sweden.
The Council of the Realm, or simply The Council, was a cabinet of medieval origin, consisting of magnates which advised, and at times co-ruled with, the King of Sweden.
The Prime Minister is the head of government in Sweden. Before the creation of the office of a Prime Minister in 1876, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the King, in whom the executive authority was vested. Louis Gerhard De Geer, the architect behind the new bicameral Riksdag of 1866 that replaced the centuries-old Riksdag of the Estates, became the first officeholder in 1876.
The Instrument of Government adopted on 6 June 1809 by the Riksdag of the Estates and King Charles XIII was one of the fundamental laws that made up the constitution of Sweden from 1809 to the end of 1974. The law came about after the Coup of 1809, when the disastrous outcome in the Finnish War led Swedish nobles and parts of the Army to revolt, forcing King Gustav IV Adolf to involuntarily abdicate and go into exile. It was thus the constitution which saw Sweden transition from an absolute monarchy of the Gustavian era into a stable, constitutional democracy adhering to the rule of law and significant civil liberties.
The Speaker of the Riksdag is the presiding officer of the national unicameral legislature in Sweden.
Anna Gunilla Carlsson is a Swedish politician and a member of the Moderate Party. She served as Minister for International Development Cooperation from 2006 to 2013, member of the Swedish Riksdag from 2002 to 2013 and deputy chairman of her party from 2003 to 2015.
The Swedish constitution allows the Prime Minister to appoint one of the Ministers in the cabinet as deputy prime minister, in case the Prime Minister for some reason is prevented from performing his or her duties. If a Deputy Prime Minister has not been appointed, the Minister in the cabinet who has served the longest time takes over as head of government.
Ewa Helena Björling is a Swedish politician and a member of the Moderate Party. She served as Minister for Trade from 2007 to 2014 and as Minister for Nordic Cooperation from 2010 to 2014 in the Swedish Government. She was a member of the Swedish Riksdag for Stockholm County from 2002 to 2014.
Ministerial rule is the informal term for when a public authority in Sweden — including the Riksdag, or a decision-making body of a municipality — tries to influence how an administrative authority decides in a particular case relating to the exercise of public authority vis-à-vis an individual or a local authority, or the application of legislation. This is a violation against the Instrument of Government, the main part of the constitution of Sweden.
Annie Marie Therése Lööf is a Swedish politician and lawyer. She has been a Member of the Riksdag, representing her home constituency of Jönköping County, since 2006, and leader of the Centre Party since 2011. Lööf served as Minister for Enterprise from 2011 to 2014, in the Reinfeldt Cabinet.
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the national cabinet and the supreme executive authority of Sweden. The short-form name Regeringen is used both in the Basic Laws of Sweden and in the vernacular, while the long-form is only used in international treaties.
There are fifteen parliamentary committees in the Riksdag, Sweden's parliament. Each committee is made up of seventeen elected MPs, with at least one member from each political party. Additionally, the committee on EU Affairs, while not one of the standing committees, has a similar role.
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.
Joint Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (UFöU) is a parliamentary committee in the Swedish Riksdag, made up of members of both the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Defence Committee.
The Committee on European Union Affairs is a governmental body in the Swedish Riksdag, where the Riksdag and the Swedish Government consult matters and issues about the European Union (EU). In the EU Committee, Sweden's negotiating position is determined prior to a meeting between the European Council and the Council of the European Union.
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