Prime Minister of Sweden

The Prime Minister of Sweden is nominated by the Speaker of the Riksdag and elected through negative parliamentarism. In practice, this means that the Prime Minister nominee is confirmed if fewer than 175 MPs vote 'no', regardless of the number of 'yes' votes or abstentions.[6]

Before 1876, when the office of a single prime minister was created, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from the King. Historically though, the most senior member of the Privy Council (during the absolute rule this was the Lord High Chancellor) had certain similarities to the office of a head of government. This was most evident during the so-called Age of Liberty from 1718 to 1772, when powers of the Monarch were greatly reduced and the President of the Privy Council became the most powerful political figure in Sweden.

At the adoption of the new Instrument of Government of 1809, the two offices of Prime Minister for Justice (Swedish: Justitiestatsminister) and Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs (Swedish: Utrikesstatsminister) were created, though their roles were no more than just the heads of their respective ministries. When the office of the Prime Minister was created in 1876, the Prime Ministers for Justice and Foreign Affairs were thus subsequently demoted to Minister for Justice and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Unlike the Minister for Justice, the Minister for Foreign Affairs did however continue to be styled as "Excellency", an honour shared only with the Prime Minister.[7][8] From 1917, parliamentarian principles were definitively established in Sweden and the Monarch ceased to exercise their constitutional authority to appoint the Prime Minister and the Councillors of State (cabinet ministers) at their own discretion.[9] From that time onward, the Prime Minister depended on the support of a majority in the Riksdag. Over time, the Prime Minister came to de facto exercise the Royal prerogatives. However, the Swedish term used for the Government during this period, still was Kungl. Maj:t, an abbreviation of Kunglig Majestät (English: Royal Majesty).

Until 1974, the executive authority in Sweden had been exercised through the King in Council. Constitutional reform provided a new Instrument of Government which de jure established the parliamentary system and created a cabinet government with constitutional powers not derived from the Crown.

Whenever a Prime Minister resigns, dies, or is forced from office by the Riksdag, the Speaker of the Riksdag asks the Prime Minister (or their deputy) to keep the government as a caretaker government until a successor has been elected. The Speaker then holds consultations with the party leaders and appoints a Prime Minister-designate, who is submitted for approval to the Riksdag. If the Prime Minister-designate is approved, the Prime Minister chooses which and how many ministers are to be included in the government.[10]

With the exception of the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers (Swedish: statsråd [ˈstatsroːd] (listen)) do not need the approval of the Riksdag, but they can be forced to resign by a vote of no confidence. If the Prime Minister is forced by a vote of no confidence to resign, the entire cabinet falls, and the process of electing a new Prime minister starts. The Prime Minister can dissolve the Riksdag, even after receiving a vote of no confidence, except during the first three months after an election.

The Instrument of Government requires that the Prime Minister appoint a member of the cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister, to perform the duties of the Prime Minister if the Prime Minister cannot. However, if a Deputy Prime Minister is absent or has not been appointed, the senior minister in the cabinet becomes acting head of government. If more than one minister has equal tenure, the eldest assumes the position (see Swedish governmental line of succession for the present governmental line of succession).

Constitutionally, the Prime Minister's position is stronger than that of his counterparts in Denmark and Norway. Since 1975, the Prime Minister has been both de jure and de facto chief executive, with powers and duties specifically enumerated in the Instrument of Government. In the two neighboring Scandinavian monarchies, the monarch is the nominal chief executive, but is bound by convention to act on the advice of the ministers. However, the so-called Torekov Compromise reached in 1971 by the major political parties, codified with the Instrument of Government that went into effect in 1975, stripped the Swedish monarch of even a nominal role in governmental affairs, thus codifying actual practices that had been in place since the definitive establishment of parliamentary government in 1917.

• 
  The Rosenbad building has functioned as the Prime Minister's Office (Statsrådsberedningen) since 1981.
• 
  The Sager Palace is the Prime Minister's official residence.
• 
  Harpsund Manor has been used as the Prime Minister's country residence since 1953.
• 
  Kanslihuset was where the Prime Minister's Office was located prior to 1981. Nowadays it houses offices of the Riksdag.

• Air transports of heads of state and government
• Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden
• Elections in Sweden
• Official state car
• Swedish governmental line of succession
• List of prime ministers of Sweden
• List of cabinets of Sweden
• List of Swedish politicians
• List of Spouses of the Prime Ministers of Sweden

Bibliography

• The Instrument of Government (PDF). Stockholm: The Riksdag. 2012.
• The Riksdag Act (PDF). Stockholm: The Riksdag. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2013.
• Larsson, Torbjörn; Bäck, Henry (2008). Governing and Governance in Sweden. Lund: Studentlitteratur AB. ISBN 978-91-44-03682-3.
• Petersson, Olof (2010). Den offentliga makten (in Swedish). Stockholm: SNS Förlag. ISBN 978-91-86203-66-5.

• Prime Minister's Office, official website