| Government of the Kingdom of Sweden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Established | 1 January 1975 |
| State | Kingdom of Sweden |
| Leader | Prime Minister (Statsminister) |
| Appointed by | Prime Minister is elected by theRiksdag. Other ministers (statsråd) are appointed by the Prime Minister. |
| Main organ | Cabinet |
| Responsible to | Riksdag |
| Headquarters | Rosenbad,Stockholm |
| Website | www |
TheGovernment of the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish:Konungariket Sveriges regering) is thenational cabinet ofSweden, and the country'sexecutive authority.
The Government consists of thePrime Minister and theircabinet ministers (Swedish:statsråd).[1] The Government isresponsible for its actions to the Riksdag.
The Prime Minister is nominated by theSpeaker of the Riksdag, and is elected and discharged by vote of theRiksdag.[2] The cabinet ministers are appointed and dismissed at the discretion of the Prime Minister.[3] The Speaker shall discharge cabinet ministers that have lost a vote of confidence in the Riksdag.[4]
The short-form nameRegeringen ("the Government") is used both in theBasic Laws of Sweden and in the vernacular,[citation needed] while the long-form is only used in international treaties.[5][non-primary source needed]
The Government governs the country and isresponsible for its actions to the Riksdag.[6] The Government consists of thePrime Minister and othercabinet ministers (Swedish:statsråd),[1] and operates as acollegial body with collective responsibility.
The Prime Minister is nominated by theSpeaker of the Riksdag, following formal consultations with representatives of the partygroups of the Riksdag. Within four days, the Riksdag proceeds to a vote on the proposal. Unless more than half of the members of the Riksdag vote against the proposal, the nominee is approved and the Speaker proceeds to appoint their nominee as Prime Minister. Thus, the Prime Minister may be elected without a majority of the Riksdag voting for them.[7]
The Prime Minister may appoint a designated Deputy among their ministers, to deputise for them in case of absence. Failing to do so, or in the case of the Deputy being unable to deputise at a given time, the Prime Minister's duties will be assumed by the minister currently in office that has served as minister for the longest period of time.[8]
The Prime Minister appoints their cabinet ministers, organizes the Government Office into ministries (Swedish:departement), and appoints heads of ministries among their cabinet ministers.[9]
Cabinet ministers are dismissed at the discretion of the Prime Minister or, by law, at the request of the minister themself.[10] The Riksdag may vote to declare that a minister not longer enjoys the Riksdag's confidence. In such a case, the Speaker discharges said minister.[4]
The constitutional head of state is the rulingSwedish Monarch.[11] Following the adoption of the1974 Instrument of Government on 1 January 1975, the monarch is no longer vested with anyexecutive powers at all with respect to the governance of the Realm, be it nominal or formal powers. They continue to serve as a strictly ceremonialhead of state.[12]
The Prime Minister shall keep the Head of State informed regarding the country's affairs.[13]
The Head of State chairs the Council of State, which meets at the convening of the Government.[13] The change of hands of government takes effect at such a Council of State.[14]
The present Government is formed according to the laws set out in the1974 Instrument of Government. But it traces its history back to theMiddle Ages when thePrivy Council of Sweden was formed in the 12th century. It functioned in this capacity until 1789 whenKing Gustav III had it abolished when the Riksdag passed theUnion and Security Act. The old privy council had only had members from thearistocracy. Gustav III instead institutedRikets allmänna ärendens beredning. It functioned as the Government until 1809 when a newInstrument of Government was introduced, thus creating the present government's predecessor, theCouncil of State. It acted as the Government of Sweden until 31 December 1974.
The Government has a stronger constitutional position than the cabinets in the other Scandinavian monarchies. This is because under theInstrument of Government (Swedish:regeringsformen)—one of the Fundamental Laws of the Realm—the Government is both thede jure andde facto executive authority in Sweden. In Denmark and Norway, the monarch is at least the nominal chief executive, but is bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet. However, Chapter 1, Article 6 of the Instrument of Government explicitly states:[16]
The Government governs the Realm. It is accountable to theRiksdag
The Instrument of Government sets out the main responsibilities and duties of the Government (including the Prime Minister's and other cabinet ministers') and how it relates to other organs of the State.[16]
TheChancellor of Justice and other State administrative authorities come under the Government, unless they are authorities under theRiksdag according to the present Instrument of Government or by virtue of other law.
— Instrument of Government, Chapter 12, Article 1.[16]
Most state administrative authorities (statliga förvaltningsmyndigheter), as opposed to local authorities (kommuner), sorts under the Government, including theArmed Forces,Coast Guard,Customs Service and thepolice.
While thejudiciary technically sort under the Government in the fiscal sense, Chapter 11 of the Instrument of Government provides safeguards to ensure its independence.[16][17]
In a unique feature of the Swedish constitutional system, individual cabinet ministersdo not bear anyindividual ministerial responsibility for the performance of the agencies within their portfolio; as thedirector-generals and other heads of government agencies report directly to the Government as a whole, the ministers also cannot intervene in matters that are to be handled by the specific government agencies, unless otherwise provided for in law; thus the origin of the pejorative, in Swedish political parlance,ministerstyre (English: "ministerial rule").
The Government of Sweden is thehigh contracting party when enteringtreaties with foreignsovereign states andinternational organisations (such as theEuropean Union), as per 10:1 of the Instrument of Government.[16] In most other parliamentary systems (monarchies and republics alike) this formal function is usually vested in thehead of state but exercised by ministers in such name.
Chapter 7, Article 7 prescribes that laws and ordinances are promulgated by the Government (by the Prime Minister or other cabinet minister),[16] and are subsequently published in theSwedish Code of Statutes (Swedish:Svensk författningssamling).[18]
Following ageneral election,Speaker of the Riksdag begins to hold talks with the leaders of the parties with representation in theRiksdag, the Speaker then nominates a candidate forPrime Minister (statsminister). The nomination is then put to a vote in the chamber. Unless an absolute majority of the members (175 members) votes "no", the nomination is confirmed, otherwise it is rejected. The Speaker must then find a new nominee. This means the Riksdag can consent to a Prime Minister without casting any "yes" votes.
After being elected the Prime Minister appoints the cabinet ministers and announces them to the Riksdag. Prospective ministers do not have to be sitting members of the Riksdag, but if one accepts a nomination, they would surrender their seat to a substitute member. The new Government takes office at a special council held at theRoyal Palace before themonarch, at which the Speaker of the Riksdag formally announces to the monarch that the Riksdag has elected a new Prime Minister and that the Prime Minister has chosen his cabinet ministers.
The Riksdag can cast avote of no confidence against any single cabinet minister (Swedish:statsråd), thus forcing a resignation. To succeed a vote of no confidence must be supported by an absolute majority (175 members) or it has failed.
If a vote of no confidence is cast against the Prime Minister this means the entire government is rejected. A losing government has one week to call for a general election or else the procedure of nominating a new Prime Minister starts anew.
| Sveriges regering | |
| |
| Role | Executive cabinet |
|---|---|
| Established | 1975 |
| Constitution instrument | Instrument of Government |
| Predecessor entities | Privy Council (12th century—1789) Rikets allmänna ärendens beredning (1789–1809) Council of State (1809—1974) |
| Cabinet | |
| Members | Kristersson Cabinet |
| Prime Minister | Ulf Kristersson |
| Deputy to the Prime Minister | Ebba Busch |
| Number of members | 24 |
| Administration | |
| Working language | Swedish |
| Staff organization | Government Offices (the ministries are organised as entities within it) |
| Location | Stockholm,Stockholm County, Sweden |
| Seat | Rosenbad(since 1981) |
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Related topics |
Each appointment of a new Prime Minister is considered to result in a new cabinet, irrespective if the Prime Minister is reappointed or not. However, there is no automatic resignation following a defeat in ageneral election, so an election does not always result in a new cabinet.
Previously known as the Royal Chancery (Swedish:Kunglig Majestäts kansli), the name was changed to theGovernment Offices (Swedish:Regeringskansliet) on 1 January 1975 with the currentInstrument of Government entering into effect.[20]
The Instrument of Government briefly mentions in Chapter 7, Article 1 that there is a staff organization supporting the Government known as the Government Offices. The present organizational charter for the Government Offices is found in theordinance namedFörordning (1996:1515) med instruktion för Regeringskansliet. Since the issuance of that ordinance in 1996, all the ministries are technically entities within the Government Offices (headed by thePrime Minister), rather than as separate organisations even though they operate as such. Below follows a short summary of the current structure.[21]
