Sweden has a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy form of government. The King is the head of state but holds a largely ceremonial role, while executive power lies with the Prime Minister and cabinet. Sweden has a unicameral parliament known as the Riksdag, which consists of 349 members elected to four-year terms. Main political parties include the Social Democratic Party, Moderate Party, Green Party, and others. Sweden has a predominantly Lutheran population, though church attendance is low, and immigration has increased the Muslim and Roman Catholic populations in recent decades.

1. Politics of Sweden
Benedict (Viktor) Gombocz

2. Geography of Sweden
 Location: Northern Europe, bordering the
Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and
Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway
 Area
 Total: 450,295 sq km
 Country comparison to the world: 56
 Land: 410,335 sq km
 Water: 39,960 sq km
 Area – comparative: Slightly larger than
California
 Land boundaries:
 Total: 2,233 km
 Border countries: Finland 614 km, Norway
1,619 km
 Coastline: 3,218 km

3. Physical Map of Sweden

4. Religion in Sweden
 Christianity in Sweden traces its roots back to Norse
paganism in the 11th century.
 Sweden has been mostly Lutheran since the 16th century;
the Lutheran Church of Sweden (Swedish: Svenska
kyrkan) was Sweden’s state church from the Protestant
Reformation until 2000.
 As of 2012, 67.5% of Sweden’s population belongs to the
Church of Sweden, in comparison with more than 95% in
1970, and 83% in 2000.
 In spite of this, religion in Sweden only plays a small role
in comparison to the European average.
 In a 2010 Eurobarometer Poll, only 18% of Swedish
citizens indicated that “they believe there is a god.”
 In a 2009 Gallup poll, only 17% said yes to the question
“Is religion an important part of your daily life?”.
 Fewer than 4% of the Church of Sweden membership
attends public masses in an average week; almost only
2% are regular attendees.
 Some researchers consider Sweden to be a country
where religion is viewed with “benign indifference”.
 The history of the Jews in Sweden dates back to the 17th
century.
 Due to immigration in the late 20th century, there is a
sizable Muslim minority (4% of the population) and
Roman Catholics (2%).

5. Religion Statistics
 Lutheran: 87%
 Other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist):13%

6. Malmö Mosque and Sankta-Maria-i-Rosengård
Catholic Church

7. Sweden’s political system: Introducing
Sweden’s political system
 The political system of Sweden functions in a structure of a parliamentary representative
democratic constitutional monarchy.
 The government, led by the PM of Sweden, exercises executive power.
 Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, elected within a multi-
party structure.
 The Judiciary, named by the government and employed until retirement, is independent.
 Sweden has a distinctive Western European history of democracy, starting with the old
Viking age Ting electing kings and ending with a normal royal power, that in eras became
relatively democratic depending on the common European leanings, in the 14th century.
 The current democratic régime is a result of a steady growth of successively added
democratic institutions that date back to the 19th century up to 1921, when women’s suffrage
was legalized.
 The Swedish government has adhered to parliamentarism – de jure since 1975, de facto
since 1917.
 The Social Democratic Workers’ Party, which has had a plurality (and occasionally a
majority) in parliament since 1917, has largely ruled Swedish national politics since the
Great Depression; from 1932-2006, the Social Democrats led the government for 65 years,
almost entirely in the absence of a minor partner.

8. Sweden’s political system: Government of
Sweden
 Capital (and largest city): Stockholm
 Official language(s): Swedish
 Demonym: Swedish
 Government: Unitary parliamentary
representative democracy under
constitutional monarchy
 Monarch: King Carl XVI Gustaf
 Prime Minister: Fredrik Reinfeldt (M)
 Speaker of the Riksdag: Per
Westerberg (M)
 Legislature: Riksdag

9. Sweden’s political system: Constitution
 Sweden’s constitution is divided into four basic laws.
 The most important law is the Instrument of Government of 1974, which lays
out the vital standards of political life in Sweden, outlining rights and liberties.
 The Act of Succession is a treaty between the old Riksdag of the Estates
and the House of Bernadotte legalizing their rights to accede to the Swedish
throne.
 The four primary laws are:
 Instrument of Government (1974)
 Act of Succession (1809)
 Freedom of the Press Act (1766)
 Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991)

10. Sweden’s political system: Executive branch
Main office holders
Roles of the King and the
Prime Minister
 Office: King
 Name: Carl XVI Gustaf
 Party: None
 Since: 15 September 1973
 Office: Speaker of the Riksdag
 Name: Per Westerberg
 Party: Moderate Party
 Since: 2 October 2006
 Office: Prime Minister
 Name: Fredrik Reinfeldt
 Party: Moderate Party
 Since: 5 October 2006
 Head of State
 King Carl XVI Gustaf of the House of
Bernadotte became king in 1973.
 His power is formal, symbolic, and
representative.
 Head of government
 After the 17 September 2006 general
elections, Moderate Party nominee
Fredrik Reinfeldt was elected PM of
Sweden by the new parliament on 5
October; along with the three other
political parties in the centre-right Alliance
for Sweden, Reinfeldt heads a coalition
government.
 Jan Björklund of the Liberal People’s
Party is the Deputy PM.

11. Sweden’s political system: Government
 The most supreme executive power of the State is vested in the Government, which is
made up of a PM and almost 22 Ministers who supervise the ministries; the Ministers
are nominated at the PM’s sole discretion.
 The PM is nominated by the Speaker and subsequently appointed after a vote in the
Riksdag itself, a procedure in which the Monarch plays no role.
 Only a motion of no confidence (misstroendevotum) in the Riksdag can oust a
government; this motion needs a majority of the total amount of votes in the Riksdag
(no less than175).
 The taking on of the budget in the Riksdag is another case in point of the power the
legislature has granted the Government.
 Unless a majority of the Riksdag members vote against it, the Government’s
suggestion to the budget is adopted.

12. Sweden’s political system: Political parties
with official representation
 Swedish Social Democratic Party
(Sveriges Socialdemokratiska
arbetarparti, S)
 Moderate Party (Moderata
samlingspartiet, M)
 Green Party (Miljöpartiet de Gröna,
MP)
 Liberal People’s Party (Folkpartiet
Liberalerna, FP)
 Centre Party (Centerpartiet, C)
 Sweden Democrats
(Sverigedemokraterna, SD)
 Pirate Party (Piratpartiet, PP)
 Christian Democrats
(Kristdemokraterna, KD)
 Left Party (Vänsterpartiet, V)

13. Sweden’s political system: Legislative
branch
 The unicameral Riksdag is grouped of 349
members, commonly elected every four years; it is
usually in session between September and mid-
June.
 The Cabinet or members of the Riksdag may initiate
legislation.
 Members are elected on the basis of proportional
representation for a term of four years.
 The Riksdag can modify the Constitution of
Sweden, but only with approval by a supermajority
and verification following the subsequent general
elections.
 Since 1917, after Reformists verified their strength
and the revolutionaries left, the Swedish Social
Democratic Party has taken a leading political role.
 The cabinets have been ruled by the Social
Democrats since after 1932.
 The centre-right bloc has been given enough seats in
the Riksdag to create a government in only four
general elections (1976, 1979, 1991, 2006).
 This is seen as one factor for Sweden’s status as a
post-war welfare state, with a government spending
of slightly over 50% of the GDP.

14. Sweden’s political system: Judiciary
 Swedish law, based on Germanic, Roman, and Anglo-American law, is
neither codified as it is in France and other countries influenced by the
Napoleonic Code, nor as reliant on judicial practice and examples as it
is in the United States.
 Courts: Civil and criminal jurisdiction.
 Supreme Court or Högsta domstolen
 Courts of appeal or Hovrätt
 District courts or Tingsrätter
 Administrative Courts: Proceedings between the Public and the Government.
 The Supreme Administrative Court or Regeringsrätten
 Administrative courts of appeal or Kammarrätter
 County administrative courts or Länsrätter
 Ombudsman:
 The Parliamentary Ombudsman or Justitieombudsmannen
 The Chancellor of Justice or Justitiekanslern

15. Carl XVI Gustaf
 Born 30 April 1946 at the Haga Palace.
 Reigning King of Sweden since 15
September 1973, when he succeeded his
grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf.
 Is the only son of Prince Gustaf
Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess
Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
 In contrast to many other European
monarchs who bear extensive
methods, King Carl Gustaf’s official and
full style is simply His Majesty Carl XVI
Gustaf, King of Sweden.
 His perceptible successor, upon the
passing of a new law establishing
absolute primogeniture (the first law of its
kind passed in European history), is
Crown Princess Victoria, the oldest child
of the King and his wife, Queen Silva.

16. Fredrik Reinfeldt
 Born 4 August 1965 in Österhaninge.
 32nd and current PM of Sweden; assumed office on 6 October
2006, following the general election.
 Has served as chairman of the liberal conservative Moderate Party
since 2003; was President of the European Council in 2009.
 A native of Stockholm County; joined the Moderate Youth League in
1983, and advanced to the rank of chairman by 1992, holding that post
until 1995.
 Has served as an MP since 1991, representing his home constituency.
 Was elected party leader on 25 October 2003; succeeded Bo Lundgren.
 Under his leadership, the Moderate Party has reformed its politics and
shifted itself towards the centre, calling itself “the New Moderates”
(Swedish: Nya moderaterna).
 Governs over a coalition government with the support of a slight
majority in the parliament, along with the three other political parties in
the centre-right Alliance for Sweden.
 Was the third youngest individual, at the age of 41, to become PM of
Sweden.
 His first term in office was marked by the late 2000s financial crisis and
recession; his popularity diminished in the midst of the financial
crisis, but when the Swedish economy emerged as one of the best in
Europe, his support recovered, which resulted in his re-election in 2010.
 Following the 2010 general election, his government was lessened to a
minority government, although it also became the first right of centre
government since before WWII to win re-election;
consequently, Reinfeldt became the first Moderate politician to win a
second term as PM.
 Is also the lengthiest-serving Moderate PM in Sweden’s history; his
government is the lengthiest-serving consecutive non-social democratic
government since Erik Gustaf Boström in 1900.

17. Per Westerberg
 Born 2 August 1951 in Nyköping.
 Current Speaker of the Riksdag, of which he became
a member in 1979 (making him its oldest
member), since 2 October 2006.
 Graduated from Stockholm School of Economics in
1974.
 Was employed at Saab-Scania in Södertälje from
1974-1977; was also employed at Saab-Scania (the
car division) in Nyköping from 1979-1991.
 Was a member of the board of AB Karl W. Olsson in
1974 and chairman of the Cewe Instrument AB 1984-
1990 and of Elwia AB from 1985.
 Served as director of the Enterprise Agency FFV
from 1983, and as a member of the Power
Management Committee from 1978-1982, and of the
cooperative inquiry 1980-1983, of the inquiry for the
recovery of beverage containers from 1982-
1983, and of the ownership investigation from 1995.
 His family has owned a business for generations.

18. Swedish Social Democratic Party
 Centre-left, social democratic political party.
 Contests elections as the Workers’ Party – The Social Democrats
(Arbetarepartiet-Socialdemokraterna), even though it is more commonly
referred to simply as the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna).
 Oldest and biggest political party in Sweden; was founded on 23 April
1889.
 A break occurred in 1917 when the socialists left the Social Democrats
to found the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party (now the Left Party).
 The SAP’s symbol is by tradition a red rose, thought to have been
Fredrik Ström’s idea.
 Its political position has a hypothetical base within Marxist revisionism;
its party program interchangeably refers to their ideology as democratic
socialism, or social democracy, but hardly any high-level delegates have
invoked socialism since Olof Palme.
 Advocates social welfare provision paid for from progressive taxation
and a social corporatist economy that involves the institutionalization of
a social partnership structure between capital and labor economic
interest groups, with government supervision to solve disagreements
between the two factions.
 Have also become strong advocators of feminism and fairness of all
sorts in recent times, and are strongly opposed to what they see as
discrimination and racism.
 Commenced the Red-Greens along with the Greens and the Left Party
on 7 December 2008; the parties contested the 2010 general
election, but lost to the centre-right Alliance, and the Red-Green alliance
fell on 26 November 2010.
 Member of Socialist International (International affiliation), Party of
European Socialists (European affiliation), Progressive Alliance of
Socialists and Democrats (EP group), and SAMAK (Nordic affiliation).

19. The End (Slutet)