Speaker of the Riksdag

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The Speaker, or Talman, of the Riksdag is the chairman of the national parliament in Sweden. The new Riksdag was created in 1867, when the old Riksdag of the Estates institution was abolished and included two chambers, each with its own speaker. Since the introduction of parliamentarism in 1917 the Riksdag has properly functioned as the Parliament of Sweden. In 1970 the institution underwent changes which transformed it into a unicameral legislative with 349 members as a precursor of the new Constitution of Sweden adopted in 1974.

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[edit] Duties of the speaker

Duties of the speaker is governed by the Instrument of Government.

The speaker is the head of the Riksdag. As such he coordinates the work that takes place in the Riksdag. This task was previously handled by the Monarch of Sweden. However in 1974, with the new Instrument of Government, the monarch was stripped of all political powers which were transferred to the speaker. The monarch remained the chief of state with only ceremonial duties.

The position of speaker is the highest position a person may be elected to in Sweden. The monarch outranks the speaker since he is the head of state. However since that position is hereditary a person cannot be elected to become the monarch. The speaker outranks the Prime Minister of Sweden.

In case the entire Swedish Royal Family is out of the country, the speaker assumes the role of chief of state.

The speaker does not take part in the parliamentary debates, nor does he participate in the committee work of the Riksdag. While the speaker is one of the elected representatives of the Riksdag, he is expected to remain unbiased and objective in regards to the political issues that are processed there. The speaker has no vote in the Riksdag, but uses his vote as a member of the Riksdag if a tie appears.

One of the more important aspects of the work of the speaker is to head the negotiations concerning the forming of a new government in case there is a shift of power after an election. The speaker proposes the new prime minister. This is unique to Sweden. In other parliamentary democracies the handover is headed by the chief of state.

[edit] Speakers of the Two Chamber Riksdag (1867-1970)

[edit] Speakers in the First Chamber

  • Gustaf Lagerbielke (1867-1876)
  • Henning Hamilton (1877)
  • Anton Niklas Sundberg (1878-1880)
  • Gustaf Lagerbielke (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)

[edit] Speakers in the Second Chamber

[edit] Speakers of the Unicameral Riksdag (1971- )

Riksdag Speaker First Vice Speaker Second Vice Speaker Third Vice Speaker
1971–1973 Henry Allard (s) Torsten Bengtson (c) Cecilia Nettelbrandt (fp) Ivar Virgin (m)
1973–1976 Ivar Virgin (m) Cecilia Nettelbrandt (fp)
1976–1979 Tage Magnusson (m) Karl Erik Eriksson (fp)
1979–1982 Ingemund Bengtsson (s) Ingegerd Troedsson (m) Thorsten Larsson (c)
1982–1985 Anders Dahlgren (c)
1985–1988 Karl Erik Eriksson (fp)
1985–1988
Christer Eirefelt (fp)
1988		 Anders Dahlgren (c)
1985–1986
Bertil Fiskesjö (c)
1986–1988
1988–1991 Thage G. Peterson (s) Christer Eirefelt (fp) Bertil Fiskesjö (c)
1991–1994 Ingegerd Troedsson (m) Stig Alemyr (s)
1994–1998 Birgitta Dahl (s) Anders Björck (m) Görel Thurdin (c) Christer Eirefelt (fp)
1998–2002 Eva Zetterberg (v) Rose-Marie Frebran (kd)
2002–2006 Björn von Sydow (s) Anders Björck (m)
2002
Per Westerberg (m)
2003-2006		 Kerstin Heinemann (fp) Helena Höij (kd)
2006– Per Westerberg (m) Jan Björkman (s) Birgitta Sellén (c) Liselott Hagberg (fp)

[edit] External links
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