Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden

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The Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden (Riksdag) is the speaker (Swedish: talman) of the national parliament in Sweden. The Riksdag underwent changes in 1867, when the old Riksdag of the Estates institution was abolished. The new form of the Riksdag 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.

Contents 1 Duties of the Speaker 2 Speakers of the bicameral parliament (1867-1970) 2.1 Speakers of the upper house 2.2 Speakers of the lower house 3 Speakers of the unicameral parliament (1971- ) 4 External links

[edit] Duties of the Speaker

The duties of the Speaker are governed by the Instrument of Government.

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

The position of Speaker is the highest ranking position a person may be elected to in Sweden. The monarch outranks the Speaker since he is 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 usually assumes the role of head 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. In many other parliamentary democracies the handover is headed by the head of state.

[edit] Speakers of the bicameral parliament (1867-1970)
[edit] Speakers of the upper house 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 of the lower house 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)
[edit] Speakers of the unicameral parliament (1971- ) Elected Speaker First Deputy Speaker Second Deputy Speaker Third Deputy 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 – 30 September 1991 Thage G. Peterson (s) Christer Eirefelt (fp) Bertil Fiskesjö (c) 30 September 1991 – 3 October 1994 Ingegerd Troedsson (m) Stig Alemyr (s) 3 October 1994 – 5 October 1998 Birgitta Dahl (s) Anders Björck (m) Görel Thurdin (c) Christer Eirefelt (fp) 5 October 1998 – 30 September 2002 Eva Zetterberg (v) Rose-Marie Frebran (kd) 30 September 2002 – 2 October 2006 Björn von Sydow (s) Anders Björck (m) 2002 Per Westerberg (m) 2003-2006 Kerstin Heinemann (fp) Helena Höij (kd) 2 October 2006 – present Per Westerberg (m) Jan Björkman (s) Birgitta Sellén (c) Liselott Hagberg (fp) [edit] External links The Speaker - At the Riksdag