Country in N Europe, bounded W by Norway, NE by Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, SE by the Baltic Sea, and SW by the Kattegat.
government
Sweden has a hereditary monarch as formal head of state and a popularly elected government. The constitution is based on four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government Act 1809, the Act of Succession 1810, the Freedom of the Press Act 1949, and the Riksdag Act 1974. The constitution provides for a single-chamber parliament (Riksdag) of 349 members, elected by universal suffrage, through a system of proportional representation, for a three-year term.
The prime minister is nominated by the speaker of the Riksdag and confirmed by a vote of the whole house. He or she then chooses a cabinet, and all are then responsible to the Riksdag. The king or queen now has a purely formal role; the normal duties of a constitutional monarch, such as dissolving parliament and deciding who should be asked to form an administration, are undertaken by the speaker.
history
S Sweden has been inhabited since about 6000 BC. The Swedish Vikings in AD 800–1060 sailed mainly to the east and founded the principality of Novgorod. In the mid-12th century the Swedes in the north were united with the Goths in the south and accepted Christianity. A series of crusades from the 12th to the 14th centuries brought Finland under Swedish rule. Sweden, Norway, and Denmark were united under a Danish dynasty 1397–1520. Gustavus Vasa was subsequently elected king of Sweden. The Vasa line ruled until 1818, when the French marshal Bernadotte established the present dynasty.
Sweden's territorial ambitions led to warfare in Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries (see Gustavus Adolphus, Thirty Years' War, Charles X, Charles XII), which left the country impoverished. Science and culture flourished under Gustavus III 1771–91. Sweden lost Finland to Russia 1809 but annexed Norway 1814, a union dissolved 1905.
Sweden has a long tradition of neutrality and political stability, and a highly developed social welfare system. The office of ombudsman is a Swedish invention, and Sweden was one of the first countries to adopt a system of open government.
constitutional reform
The Social Democratic Labour Party (SAP) was continuously in power 1951–76, usually in coalition. In 1969 Olof Palme became prime minister. He carried out two major reforms of the constitution, reducing the chambers in parliament from two to one 1971 and in 1975 removing the last of the monarch's constitutional powers. In the general election 1976 he was defeated over the issue of the level of taxation needed to fund the welfare system.
controversy over nuclear power
Thorbjörn Fälldin, leader of the Center Party (CP), formed a center-right coalition government. The Fälldin administration fell 1978 over its wish to follow a non-nuclear energy policy, and was replaced by a minority Liberal Party (FP) government. Fälldin returned 1979, heading another coalition, and in a referendum the following year there was a narrow majority in favor of continuing with a limited nuclear-energy program.
prime minister assassinated
Fälldin remained in power until 1982, when the SAP, with Olof Palme, returned with a minority government. Palme was soon faced with deterioriating relations with the USSR, arising from suspected violations of Swedish territorial waters by Soviet submarines.
The situation had improved substantially by 1985. In Feb 1986, Palme was murdered by an unknown assailant. His deputy, Ingvar Carlsson, took over as prime minister and leader of the SAP.
economic problems
In the Sept 1988 general election Carlsson and the SAP were reelected with a reduced majority. In Feb 1990, with mounting opposition to its economic policies, the government resigned, leaving Carlsson as caretaker prime minister. In Dec 1990 the Riksdag supported the government's decision to apply for European Community (EC) membership. In the Sept 1991 elections Carlsson's government was defeated. He was succeeded as prime minister by Carl Bildt who led a minority coalition government, comprising the Moderate Party, the FP, the CP, and the Christian Democratic Community Party (KdS). In Sept 1992 an unprecedented agreement between Bildt's coalition and the right-wing populist party, New Democracy, pledged cooperation in solving the country's economic problems. In the Sept 1994 general election the SAP won most seats, although not an overall majority, and Ingvar Carlsson returned to power at the head of a minority government.
In May 1994 membership terms for Sweden's entry into the European Union (formerly the EC) were agreed, and a national referendum in Nov narrowly supported the application for membership. Sweden became a full EU member Jan 1995.A Scandinavian kingdom in eastern Scandinavia; Also called: Sverige.