Government of Sweden

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Sweden

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The government of Sweden is a constitutional monarchy based on parliamentary democracy. The affairs of the government of Sweden are directed by a cabinet of ministers, which is led by the Prime Minister. The cabinet and the Prime Minister are responsible for their actions to the Riksdag, which is the parliament.

Contents

[edit] Head of government

Main article: Prime Minister of Sweden

Head of Government: Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
Cabinet: Ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister and confirmed by Parliament.
Elections: The Prime Minister is first appointed by the Speaker of Parliament and then confirmed (with the cabinet ministers) by Parliament.
Election results 2006: Fredrik Reinfeldt (Moderate Party) elected Prime Minister on October 5, 2006 after the victory for Alliance for Sweden in the Swedish general election, 2006. The new government was presented on October 6, 2006.

[edit] Cabinet government

The current cabinet has 22 ministers including the prime minister. The number is however not established by law, but entirely the prime minister's choice. During parts of the 2000s, the Guinness World Records declared Sweden's cabinet to be the most equal in the world, with 11 out of 22 cabinet members being women.

The prime minister leads the work of the cabinet and is the official Head of Government. On occasion there have been appointed deputy prime ministers; when none such exist, the minister with the most seniority in the cabinet is the designate deputy prime minister.

The government is divided into a number of offices or ministries. Presently there are thirteen such offices but this number is also not established by law. Thus, some ministers also serve as Head of Office, while others have subordinate tasks within some of the larger ministries.

members who are Riksdag members (which is not a requirement but the most common situation), including the prime minister, resign their seats in the Riksdag while holding cabinet office and are replaced by substitutes from the same party. Upon their visits to the Riksdag, like the weekly question time, the ministers sit at specially designated seats in the lower left hand corner of the session hall.

[edit] Government ministries and offices

[edit] Present cabinet

Main article: Cabinet of Fredrik Reinfeldt
See also: List of cabinets of Sweden for old governments.
Portfolio Minister Political party Took office
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister,
Head of the Prime Minister's Office		 Fredrik Reinfeldt Moderate Party October 6, 2006
Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström Liberal People's Party October 6, 2006
Ministry of Justice
Minister for Justice,
Head of the Ministry of Justice		 Beatrice Ask Moderate Party October 6, 2006
Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström Moderate Party October 6, 2006
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs		 Carl Bildt Moderate Party October 6, 2006
Minister for Foreign Trade Ewa Björling Moderate Party September 12, 2007
Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson Moderate Party October 6, 2006
Ministry of Defence
Minister for Defence,
Head of the Ministry of Defence		 Sten Tolgfors Moderate Party September 5, 2007
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
Minister for Health and Social Affairs,
Head of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs		 Göran Hägglund Christian Democrats October 6, 2006
Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health Maria Larsson Christian Democrats October 6, 2006
Minister for Social Security Cristina Husmark Pehrsson Moderate Party October 6, 2006
Ministry of Finance
Minister for Finance,
Head of the Ministry of Finance		 Anders Borg Moderate Party October 6, 2006
Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets Mats Odell Christian Democrats October 6, 2006
Ministry of Education and Research
Minister for Education, Minister for Schools,
Head of the Ministry of Education and Research		 Jan Björklund Liberal People's Party September 7, 2007
Minister for Higher Education and Research Lars Leijonborg Liberal People's Party September 7, 2007
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries,
Head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries		 Eskil Erlandsson Centre Party October 6, 2006
Ministry of the Environment
Minister for the Environment,
Head of the Ministry of the Environment		 Andreas Carlgren Centre Party October 6, 2006
Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications
Minister for Enterprise and Energy,
Deputy Prime Minister,
Head of the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications		 Maud Olofsson Centre Party October 6, 2006
Minister for Communications Åsa Torstensson Centre Party October 6, 2006
Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality
Minister for Integration and Gender Equality,
Head of the Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality		 Nyamko Sabuni Liberal People's Party October 6, 2006
Ministry of Culture
Minister for Culture,
Head of the Ministry of Culture		 Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth Moderate Party October 24, 2006
Ministry of Employment
Minister for Employment,
Head of the Ministry of Employment		 Sven Otto Littorin Moderate Party October 6, 2006

[edit] Government agencies

See also: Government agencies in Sweden

The ministries in Sweden are relatively small and merely policy-making organizations, relying on Government agencies who independently carry out Government policy. A Government agency is constituted under the authority of a Ministry, but the Ministry is only allowed to influence the agency by making policy. The Minister in charge was furthermore prohibited from interfering with the day-to-day operation and the outcome in individual cases. An exception to this are the Legations and Embassies in foreign countries, which are under the damned authority and integrated with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Government of Sweden

[edit] External links

contitutional monarchy