Speaker of the Riksdag
| Speaker of the Riksdag | |
|---|---|
| Riksdagens talman | |
 Coat of Arms of the Swedish Parliament | |
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| 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 | SeeList of Deputy Speakers |
| Salary | 2,112,000krannually[1] |
| Website | www |
Thespeaker of theRiksdag(Swedish:Riksdagens talman) is thepresiding officerof the nationalunicamerallegislatureinSweden.
The Riksdag underwent profound changes in 1867, when the medievalRiksdag of the Estateswas abolished. The new form of the Riksdag includedtwo elected chambers,each with its own speaker. Since thede factointroduction ofparliamentarismin 1917, the Riksdag has properly functioned as the institution to which theprime ministerand thegovernmentare 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 theInstrument of Government of 1974,it is the speaker and no longer themonarchwho appoints and dismisses theprime minister.
The current speaker isAndreas Norlén,who has held thegavelsince September 2018.[2]
Duties of the speaker[edit]
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The speaker is the head and presiding officer of theRiksdag,and is elected by the chamber as the first order of business when the Riksdag re-convenes following ageneral election.As such, the speaker coordinates the work that takes place in the Riksdag. The office is mandated in theSwedish constitutionand the duties of the office are set out in theInstrument 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 themonarchoutranks the speaker since the monarch is thehead of state.Additionally, the speaker nominally outranks theprime minister of Sweden,even though (since the 1974–75 reforms) that person is the country'sde jureandde factochief executive.[3]
Appointment and dismissal of the prime minister[edit]
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 thecommission(Swedish:förordnande) on behalf of the Riksdag. The prime minister appoints and dismisses their own cabinet ministers, forming thegovernment(Swedish:Regeringen), without the involvement of the speaker.[3][5]
In case of either a voluntary resignation or avote of no confidence,the letter of resignation of a prime minister is handed to the speaker.
In most otherparliamentary systems,including otherconstitutional monarchies,these duties are instead handled by thehead 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 theStockholm Palacefollowing the appointment of a new prime minister. During these meetings the speaker informs themonarchon the procedure of forming the incoming government. The monarch then announces the change of government.[6]
Deputy speakers[edit]
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 thelargest partyor theleading party of the largest party blocshould hold the speakership (and thus also the position ofFirst 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]
Regent ad interim[edit]
In case all adult members of theSwedish royal familywho are in theline of succession to the throne,as prescribed in theAct of Succession,are out of the country, the speaker assumes the role ofRegent ad interim(Swedish:Riksföreståndare). This would also be the case if they were all to decease.
Riksdag Board[edit]
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.
War Delegation[edit]
The speaker chairs theWar Delegation(Swedish:Krigsdelegationen), when it is deemed necessary to convene.
List of speakers[edit]
Speakers of the bicameral Riksdag (1867–1970)[edit]
Speakers of the First Chamber (upper house)[edit]
- Gustaf Lagerbjelke(1867–1876)
- Henning Hamilton(1877)
- Anton Niklas Sundberg(1878–1880)
- Gustaf Lagerbjelke(1881–1891)
- Pehr von Ehrenheim(1891–1895)
- Gustaf Sparre(1896–1908)
- Christian Lundeberg(1909–1911)
- Ivar Afzelius(1912–1915)
- Hugo Hamilton(1916–1928)
- Axel Vennersten(1928–1936)
- Johan Nilsson(1937–1955)
- John Bergvall,Liberal(1956–1959)
- Gustaf Sundelin,Liberal(1959–1964)
- Erik Boheman,Liberal(1965–1970)
Speakers of the Second Chamber (lower house)[edit]
- Anton Niklas Sundberg(1867–1872)
- Ferdinand Asker(1873–1875)
- Arvid Posse(1876–1880)
- Olof Wijk(1880–1890)
- Gustaf Ryding(1891)
- Carl Herslow(1892–1893)
- Robert De la Gardie(1894–1902)
- Axel Swartling(1903–1912)
- Carl Bonde(1913)
- Johan Widén(1914–1917)
- Daniel Persson(1918)
- Herman Lindqvist,Social Democrat(1918–1921)
- Viktor Larsson,Social Democrat(1922–1923)
- Herman Lindqvist,Social Democrat(1924–1927)
- Viktor Larsson,Social Democrat(1927)
- Bernhard Eriksson,Social Democrat(1928–1932)
- August Sävström,Social Democrat(1933–1952)
- Gustaf Nilsson,Social Democrat(1953–1957)
- Sven Patrik Svensson(1958–1960)
- Fridolf Thapper,Social Democrat(1960–1968)
- Henry Allard,Social Democrat(1969–1970)
Speakers of the unicameral Riksdag (1971–present)[edit]
| 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 (born 1937) | 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 | 5 years, 288 days | Moderate | 2018 2022 | Östergötland County | ||
See also[edit]
Historical predecessor
- Lantmarskalk,the presiding officer of theEstate of the Nobilityin theRiksdag of the Estatesbefore 1866.
References[edit]
- The Instrument of Government, in English (as of 2012)(PDF),The Riksdag(2012). Retrieved on 2012-11-13.
- ^"Frågor & svar samt statistik över ledamöternas arvoden"(in Swedish). Riksdag.Retrieved2019-07-15.
- ^"Andreas Norlén Elected Speaker of the Riksdag".Publicnow. 24 September 2018.Retrieved24 September2018.
- ^abRiksdagsförvaltningen."The tasks of the Speaker".riksdagen.se.Retrieved2021-06-28.
- ^ArticleinDagens Nyheter2018-09-25
- ^Riksdagsförvaltningen."Forming a government".riksdagen.se.Retrieved2021-06-28.
- ^url=https:// kungahuset.se/arkiv/nyheter/2022-10-18-ny-regering-tilltradd-i-konselj-under-kungens-ordforandeskap
- ^abRiksdagsförvaltningen."Deputy Speakers".riksdagen.se.Retrieved2021-06-28.
External links[edit]
- The Speaker- At the Riksdag
| Första kammaren(1867–1970) (upper house of the Swedish Parliament) | | |
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| Andra kammaren(1867–1970) (lower house of the Swedish Parliament) |
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| Unicameral Riksdag(1971–present) | ||