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Sweden - Government and Political Conditions (Notes)

GOVERNMENT Popular government in Sweden rests upon ancient tradition. The Swedish parliament (Riksdag) stems from tribal courts (Ting) and the election of kings in the Viking age. It became a permanent institution in the 15th century. Sweden's government is a limited constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Executive authority is vested in the cabinet, which consists of a prime minister and 20 ministers who run the government departments. The present Alliance for Sweden government, led by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, came to power in September 2006. King Carl XVI Gustaf (Bernadotte) ascended to the throne on September 15, 1973. His authority is formal, symbolic, and representational. The unicameral Riksdag has 349 members, popularly elected every 4 years, and is in session generally from September through mid-June. Sweden is divided into 21 counties and 288 municipalities. Each county (län) is headed by a governor, who is appointed by the central government. Each county has a popularly elected council with the power of taxation, and each council has particular responsibility for education, public transportation, health, and medical care. Elected municipal councils are headed by executive committees roughly analogous to the boards of commissioners found in some U.S. cities. Swedish law, drawing on Germanic, Roman, and Anglo-American law, is neither as codified as in France and other countries influenced by the Napoleonic Code, nor as dependent on judicial practice and precedents as in the United States. Legislative and judicial institutions include, in addition to the Riksdag, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Labor Court, Commissions of Inquiry, the Law Council, District Courts and Courts of Appeal, the Chief Public Prosecutor, the Bar Association, and ombudsmen who oversee the application of laws with particular attention to abuses of authority. Principal Government Officials Head of State--King Carl XVI Gustaf Prime Minister (Head of Government)--Fredrik Reinfeldt Minister for Finance--Anders Borg Minister for the Environment--Andreas Carlgren Minister for Justice--Beatrice Ask Minister for Foreign Affairs--Carl Bildt Minister for EU Affairs--Cecilia Malmström Minister for Social Security--Cristina Husmark Pehrsson Minister for Agriculture--Eskil Erlandsson Minister for International Development Co-operation--Gunilla Carlsson Minister for Social Affairs--Göran Hägglund Minister for Schools--Jan Björklund Minister for Education and Science--Lars Leijonborg Minister for Culture--Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health--Maria Larsson Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets--Mats Odell Minister for Industry--Maud Olofsson Minister for Defense--Mikael Odenberg Minister for Integration and Gender Equality--Nyamko Sabuni Minister for Foreign Trade--Sten Tolgfors Minister for Employment--Sven Otto Littorin Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy--Tobias Billström Minister for Infrastructure--Åsa Torstensson Ambassador to the United States--Jonas Hafstrom Ambassador to the United Nations--Anders Liden Sweden maintains an embassy in the United States at 2900 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007. Telephone: 202-467-2600, Internet: http://www.swedenabroad.com/washington Consulates General are in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. There also are consulates in 31 other U.S. cities. Contact the embassy for locations and telephone numbers.