The 1719 Instrument of Government ( sv, regeringsform) adopted on 21 February 1719 by the

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 ...

(Swedish parliament), was the

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 Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of the

Kingdom 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 ...

from 1719 to 1720. Although only in force for a few months, it has great significance in Swedish history, as its promulgation marked the end of the country's first period of absolutism (1680-1719) and the beginning of the period of

constitutional monarchy 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 ...

and

parliamentary government 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 ...

traditionally known as the

Age of Liberty In Swedish and Finnish history, the Age of Liberty ( sv, frihetstiden; fi, vapauden aika) was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with Charles XII's death in 1718 ...

. The Instrument came about as a result of the succession crisis which occurred after

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

died childless during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, leaving two potential heirs: his sister

Ulrika Eleonora the Younger 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 ...

, and his nephew

Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Charles Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () (30 April 1700 – 18 June 1739) was a Prince of Sweden and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and an important member of European royalty. His dynasty, the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gott ...

. The crisis was eventually resolved by a deal whereby the Riksdag acknowledged Ulrika as

queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reignin ...

, and in exchange she signed a new constitution, thereby renouncing the

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 constitut ...

instituted by her father King Charles XI. As such it was in effect a revival of the

Instrument of Government (1634) The Instrument of Government ( sv, regeringsform) of 1634 was a document describing the form and operation of the Swedish government, retrospectively regarded as the country's first constitution, although it was not intended to function as such.< ...

, and indeed the title "Instrument of Government" ( sv, regeringsform) was deliberately chosen to invoke that earlier document; there are however substantial differences between the two, with the 1634 Instrument having a more narrowly descriptive and

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

function while the 1719 Instrument was explicitly intended to be a

political constitution A political constitution is a constitution where the legislature is the main check upon executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (C ...

in the modern sense. Only a year after its promulgation, the 1719 Instrument of Government was replaced by a new constitution, the

Instrument of Government (1720) The 1720 Instrument of Government ( sv, regeringsform) adopted on 2 May 1720 by the Riksdag of the Estates (Swedish parliament), was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1720 to 1772, and was thus in force for almost the entirety of the ...

, although the two were largely identical in content.Regeringsformen
''

Nordisk Familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

'' (1915), p.1208 The 1720 Instrument subsequently remained in force for the rest of the Age of Liberty, until absolutism was restored by

King Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was Monarchy of Sweden, King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a voca ...

self-coup A self-coup, also called autocoup (from the es, autogolpe), is a form of coup d'état in which a nation's head, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. The leader may dissolve or render powerless ...

in 1772.

References

Sources

* * {{Constitutions of Sweden, state=collapsed 1719 in law Constitution of Sweden Defunct constitutions 1719 in Sweden 1719 in politics