Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Swedish: Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap, MSB) is a Swedish administrative authority, organised under the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for issues concerning civil protection, public safety, emergency management and civil defence. Responsibility refers to measures taken before, during and after an emergency or crisis. MSB work in close cooperation with the municipalities, the county councils, other authorities, organisations and the private sector to achieve increased safety and security at all levels of society. This is done through education, support, training exercises, regulation and supervision.[1]

The agency cover the whole spectrum of contingencies; from everyday road traffic accidents and fires, up to chemical emergencies, power cuts and other technical failures. Additionally, more serious emergencies, such as bomb threats and other antagonistic attacks, epidemics, natural disasters and war. In most cases, the responsibility for on-scene action does not lie with the Civil Contingencies Agency but with municipal rescue services, law enforcement agencies or other agencies.[1]

History

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency was established 1 January 2009, when it replaced the now defunct Swedish Rescue Services Agency (Swedish: Räddningsverket), the Swedish Emergency Management Agency (Swedish: Krisberedskapsmyndigheten) and the Swedish National Board of Psychological Defence (Swedish: Styrelsen för psykologiskt försvar).[2]

Organisation

The MSB is based in Stockholm, Karlstad, Kristinehamn and Ljung. The MSB also has some colleges in Sandö, Revinge and Rosersberg. The agency has about 850 employees, lead by Director-General Helena Lindberg. It's organised into five departments: Risk & Vulnerability Reduction Department, Emergency Management Development Department, Coordination and Operations Department, Evaluation and Monitoring Department and the Administration Department.[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About". MSB. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Vision, concept and cornerstone". MSB. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Management". MSB. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Departments and Sections". MSB. Retrieved 21 July 2014.

External links

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency - Official site (English)