Så här styrs Sverige (how Sweden is governed): our walkthrough of chapter 3 of UHR’s Sverige i fokus

Three levels and a division of work

Power in Sweden is divided between three levels: the state, the regions and the municipalities. The state handles what concerns the whole country. The state includes the riksdag (the parliament), the government, the public authorities and the courts, and also the police. The regions are responsible mainly for healthcare, and the municipalities for the services you need where you live.

Politicians make decisions about laws and rules, but a decision does not become reality by itself. It is the public authorities (myndigheterna) that carry out the decisions in their daily work.

The riksdag

Sweden is called a parliamentary representative democracy. Representative means that the people do not vote on every new law. Instead the people elect members to the riksdag, and it is the members who make the decisions.

The riksdag has 349 members, and elections are held every four years. The members represent many parties and come from all over the country. The riksdag makes new laws and decides on the state budget.

The opposition (oppositionen) is the parties in the riksdag that are outside the government and do not support it. They check what the government does and put forward their own alternatives.

The government

The government runs the country. The riksdag elects a prime minister, who then puts together a government by appointing the ministers.

The government puts forward proposals, but the riksdag makes the decision. The budget is a clear example. Every autumn the government presents its budget bill (budgetproposition), a plan for what money the state will take in and what the money will be spent on. The riksdag then votes on it.

The courts have a different task. They judge cases and take no part in making political decisions.

The public authorities

There are several hundred state authorities in Sweden, and each authority has its own area of responsibility. Some examples are Försäkringskassan (the Social Insurance Agency), Skatteverket (the Tax Agency), Migrationsverket (the Migration Agency) and Arbetsförmedlingen (the Public Employment Service). If you apply for parental benefit (föräldrapenning), it is Försäkringskassan that decides your application.

An authority must work according to the law and the instructions the government gives. Special authorities check that this happens. Two examples are the Parliamentary Ombudsmen (Justitieombudsmannen, JO) and the Chancellor of Justice (Justitiekanslern, JK).

Regions and municipalities

The regions’ most important task is health and medical care. They also run public transport, such as buses and the metro, and the county museums. The country has 21 regions. Their politicians are elected in the regional election (regionvalet) and make decisions in the regional council (regionfullmäktige).

There are many more municipalities than regions. They are responsible for, among other things, schools, care of older people, adult education, snow clearing, and water and sewage. Residents vote in the municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) in the municipal election (kommunvalet).

Work in the municipality is divided into committees (nämnder) by area. The education committee, for example, is responsible for the schools and the culture committee for the libraries. It is the municipal council that appoints who sits on the committees. Most politicians in a municipality have an ordinary job and do politics in their spare time.

The head of state

Sweden has a king or queen as head of state (statschef), but the head of state has no political power. This is called a constitutional monarchy (konstitutionell monarki). The monarch is a symbol of the country.

The head of state represents Sweden abroad, makes state visits and receives heads of state who visit Sweden. Who inherits the throne is set by the Act of Succession (successionsordningen). Today the king’s eldest child, a daughter, is crown princess.