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Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
. It was a Diet made up of the Four Estates, which historically were the lines of division in Swedish society: *
Nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
*
Clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
* Burghers *
Peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasa ...
s


Important assemblies

The meeting at Arboga in 1435 is usually considered to be the first Riksdag, but there is no indication that the fourth estate, the farmers, had been represented there. * The actual first meeting is likely the one that took place at
Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the ca ...
in 1436 after the death of rebel leader Engelbrekt. * At the Riksdag in 1517, regent Sten Sture the Younger and the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
deposed
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
Gustav Trolle. * At
Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås is the se ...
in 1527
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
was adopted as the new state religion instead of
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. * At Västerås in 1544, an order of royal succession was adopted, abolishing
elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected monarch, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and t ...
in Sweden. * At Arboga in 1561, the term ''Riksdag'' was used for the first time. * At Söderköping in 1595, duke Charles was elected regent of Sweden instead of king Sigismund, who was a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and the king of both Sweden and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. * In 1612 the Riksdag gave the nobility the privilege and right to hold all higher offices of government, after successful lobbying by
Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a c ...
. as a reward to this estate in return for their pledge to loyally support the King ( Gustavus II Adolfus). * The first open conflict between the different estates happened in 1650. * At the Riksdag in 1680 a large scale reduction (a return of lands to the Crown earlier granted to the nobility) was enacted, and Sweden became an
absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...
. * In 1719, the Riksdag elected
Ulrika Eleonora Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor (23 January 1688 – 24 November 1741), known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, was Queen of Sweden, reigning in her own right from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of her husband ...
as heir in place of her older sister's son, and Ulrika Eleonora accepted a new constitution restoring the powers of the Riksdag. * In 1771–1772, when Gustavus III after his Revolution of 1772 introduced a new Instrument of Government. * In 1789, the Riksdag accepted an addition to the instrument of government from 1772. This new law, the Union and Security Act, abolished most noble privileges and commoners, regardless of rank, could hold virtually any office Sweden. * In 1809, the Riksdag elected Charles XIII king after his nephew Gustav IV Adolf had been deposed, and after the new king had accepted a new
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
that ended Sweden's second Autocracy (1789–1809). * At the sessions in 1634, 1719, 1720, 1772 and 1809 new constitutions were adopted.


Replaced by the new Riksdag

The constitution of 1809 divided the powers of government between the monarch and the Riksdag of the Estates, and after 1866 between the monarch and the new
Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
. In 1866 all the Estates voted in favor of dissolution and at the same time to constitute a new assembly, ''Sveriges Riksdag''. The four former estates were abolished. The House of Nobility ( sv, Riddarhuset) remained as a quasi-official representation of the
Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...
until 2003. Although the Nobility remains as a legal entity it is no longer an entity of public law but merely a private association. All Noble privileges have been abolished. However, a number of entailed properties (fidekomisser) remain to be commuted (that is, turned into limited liability companies). The modern Centre Party, which grew out of the Swedish farmers' movement, could be construed as a modern representation with a traditional bond to the Estate of the Farmers.


Riksdag in Finland

Following the
Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...
in 1809, Sweden ceded its eastmost provinces to the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
. Comprising much of present-day Finland, these became a
Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in th ...
under the
Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
, but the political institutions were kept practically intact. The Finnish estates assembled in 1809 at Porvoo to confirm the change in their allegiance. This
Diet of Finland The Diet of Finland ( Finnish ''Suomen maapäivät'', later ''valtiopäivät''; Swedish ''Finlands Lantdagar''), was the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 and the recipient of the powers of the Swedish Ri ...
followed the forms of the Swedish Riksdag, being the legislative body of the new autonomous region. However, during the reigns of
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...
and Nicholas I it was not assembled and no new legislation was enacted. The diet was next assembled by tsar Alexander II in 1863, due to the need to modernize the laws. After this the Diet met regularly until 1905, when it passed an act forming a new unicameral parliament. That assembly has been Finland's legislative body since then. The Finnish House of Nobility ( fi, Ritarihuone; sv, Riddarhuset) carries on the tradition of the Estate of Nobility, but no new families have been ennobled since 1906.


See also

*
History of Sweden The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern Polar Ice Caps. From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used st ...
*
History of Finland The history of Finland begins around 9,000 BC during the end of the last glacial period. Stone Age cultures were Kunda, Comb Ceramic, Corded Ware, Kiukainen, and . The Finnish Bronze Age started in approximately 1,500 BC and the Iron Age st ...
*
History of the Riksdag The Riksdag is the national legislature of Sweden. However, when it was founded in 1866 Sweden did not have a parliamentary system of government. The national legislatures of Estonia and Finland are also called Riksdag in Swedish. The Old Riksd ...
* Riksdagsmusiken


Literature

* Stig Hadenius, The Riksdag in Focus: Swedish History in a Parliamentary Perspective, Coronet Books Incorporated, 1997.


References

{{Reflist Riksdag Historical legislatures 15th-century establishments in Sweden Political history of Sweden 1866 disestablishments in Sweden