(English: "Mr Speaker") , residence = , seat = Parliament House , nominator =

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 ...

, appointer = The Alderman , termlength = Four years (''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'') , inaugural =

Henry Allard Karl Åke Henry Allard (21 November 1911 – 23 October 1996) was a Swedish politician (Social Democrat). He was a member of the Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme de ...

, formation = , last = , abolished = , succession = , deputy = ''See List of Deputy Speakers'' , salary = 2,112,000 kr annually , website = The speaker of the

( sv, Riksdagens talman) is the presiding officer of the national

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

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 ...

. The Riksdag underwent profound changes in 1867, when the medieval

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...

was abolished. The new form of the Riksdag included two elected chambers, each with its own speaker. Since the ''

'' introduction of

parliamentarism A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of t ...

in 1917, the Riksdag has properly functioned as the institution to which the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

are held accountable. In 1971 the institution was transformed into a unicameral legislature with 350 members, reduced to 349 in 1976 to avoid parliamentary deadlocks. Since 1975, in accordance with the Instrument of Government of 1974, it is the speaker and no longer the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

who appoints and dismisses the

. The current speaker is Andreas Norlén, who has held the

gavel A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the ...

since September 2018.

Duties of the speaker

The speaker is the head and presiding officer of the

, and is elected by the chamber as the first order of business when the Riksdag re-convenes following a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. As such, the speaker coordinates the work that takes place in the Riksdag. The office is mandated in the Swedish constitution and the duties of the office are set out in the Instrument of Government (1974) and the Riksdag Act. The speaker themselves does not take part in debates, nor do they participate in the parliamentary committees. Consequently, they have no vote, and a substitute is appointed to fill his or her seat in the Riksdag during their time in office. While the speaker is still one of the elected representatives of the Riksdag, they are expected to remain unbiased and objective with regards to the political issues that are debated. In terms of official protocol, the position of speaker is the second highest-ranked public position in Sweden. Only the

outranks the speaker since the monarch is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

. However, since that position is hereditary, a person cannot be elected to become the monarch. Additionally, the speaker nominally outranks the

prime minister of Sweden The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are su ...

, even though (since the 1974–75 reforms) that person is the country's ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' chief executive.

Appointment and dismissal of the prime minister

One of the more important aspects of the work of the speaker is to head negotiations concerning the forming of a new government in case there is a shift of power after an election. The speaker can then dismiss a prime minister who is voted out of office, which happened for the first time on 25 September 2018.Article
in ''

Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ' ...

'' 2018-09-25 After the negotiations, the speaker proposes the new prime ministerial candidate to the chamber, and following a positive vote, the speaker signs the commission ( sv, förordnande) on behalf of the Riksdag. The prime minister appoints and dismisses their own cabinet ministers, forming the

( sv, Regeringen), without the involvement of the speaker. In case of either a voluntary resignation or a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, the letter of resignation of a prime minister is handed to the Speaker. In most other parliamentary systems, including other

constitutional monarchies A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, these duties are instead handled by the

. Relieving the Swedish Monarch of political powers, although not the key objective from the outset, became nevertheless an important part on the constitutional reform in the 1970s.

Deputy speakers

The speaker is assisted by three deputy speakers who are also elected by the chamber. Traditionally, the second, third and fourth largest parties gets to name of one of their members for these offices. There is some disagreement whether the ''largest party'' or the ''leading party of the largest party bloc'' should hold the speakership (and thus also the position of First Deputy Speaker). Unlike the Speaker (and cabinet ministers), the deputy Speakers are not replaced by an alternate and remain members of the Riksdag with voting rights.

Regent ad interim

In case all adult members of the

Swedish royal family The Swedish royal family ( sv, Svenska kungafamiljen) since 1818 has consisted of members of the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. Today those who are recognized by the government are entitled to royal ti ...

who are in the line of succession to the throne, as prescribed in the Act of Succession, are out of the country, the speaker assumes the role of ''Regent ad interim'' ( sv, Riksföreståndare). This would also be the case if they were all to decease.

Riksdag Board

The speaker chairs the Riksdag Board ( sv, Riksdagsstyrelsen), which deliberates on the organisation of the work of the Riksdag, directs the work of the Riksdag Administration ( sv, Riksdagsförvaltningen) and decides upon matters of major significance concerning the international contacts programme.

War Delegation

The speaker chairs the War Delegation ( sv, Krigsdelegationen), when it is deemed necessary to convene.

List of speakers

Speakers of the bicameral Riksdag (1867–1970)

Speakers of the First Chamber (upper house)

Gustaf Lagerbjelke Count Gustaf Lagerbjelke (6 October 1817 – 6 March 1895) was a Swedish politician, the last Lord Marshal (Sweden), Lord Marshal and the first Speaker of the Riksdag, Speaker of Första kammaren of the Riksdag. Biography Gustaf Lagerbjelke was ...

(1867–1876) *

Henning Hamilton Count Henning Ludvig Hugo Hamilton (16 January 1814 – 15 January 1886) was a Swedish count, politician, government official and author. His father was Gustaf Wathier Hamilton. Today he is perhaps best remembered for the so-called ''Hamilton sc ...

(1877) *

Anton Niklas Sundberg Anton Niklas Sundberg (27 May 1818, Uddevalla – 2 February 1900) was a Lutheran clergyman, and the Church of Sweden archbishop of Uppsala 1870–1900. Biography He acquired a doctor of philosophy and theology degree at Uppsala University ...

(1878–1880) *

(1881–1891) *

Pehr von Ehrenheim Pehr von Ehrenheim (1823–1918) was a Swedish politician and the fourth Speaker of Första kammaren of the Riksdag. References 1823 births 1918 deaths Speakers of Första kammaren Members of the Första kammaren 19th-century Swedis ...

(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 Erik Carlsson Boheman (19 January 1895 – 18 September 1979), was a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party.

, Liberal (1965–1970)

Speakers of the Second Chamber (lower house)

(1867–1872) * Ferdinand Asker (1873–1875) *

Arvid Posse Count Arvid Rutger Fredriksson Posse (15 February 1820 – 24 April 1901) was the prime minister of Sweden from 1880 to 1883. Family background and education Posse was born at Rosendal manor in Malmöhus County, as the son of Governor Count F ...

(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 Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

(1918–1921) * Viktor Larsson,

(1922–1923) * Herman Lindqvist,

(1924–1927) * Viktor Larsson,

(1927) *

Bernhard Eriksson Bernhard Eriksson (19 April 1878 – 18 April 1952) was a Swedish social democratic politician. He was Minister for Naval Affairs in 1920 and Speaker of the Riksdags second chamber 1928–1932. He also served as Governor of Dalarna Dalarna ...

(1928–1932) * August Sävström,

(1933–1952) * Gustaf Nilsson,

(1953–1957) * Sven Patrik Svensson (1958–1960) * Fridolf Thapper,

(1960–1968) *

(1969–1970)

Speakers of the unicameral Riksdag (1971–present)

References

The Instrument of Government, in English (as of 2012)
(PDF), The Riksdag (2012). Retrieved on 2012-11-13.

External links

The Speaker
- At the Riksdag {{DEFAULTSORT:Speaker Of The Parliament Of Sweden *