Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden
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The Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden (Riksdag) is the speaker (Swedish: talman) of the national parliament in Sweden. The Riksdag underwent changes in 1867, when the old Riksdag of the Estates institution was abolished. The new form of the Riksdag included two chambers, each with its own Speaker. Since the introduction of parliamentarism in 1917, the Riksdag has properly functioned as the parliament of Sweden. In 1970 the institution underwent changes which transformed it into a unicameral legislative with 349 members as a precursor of the new Constitution of Sweden adopted in 1974.
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[edit] Duties of the Speaker
The duties of the Speaker are governed by the Instrument of Government.
The Speaker is head of the Riksdag. As such he coordinates the work that takes place in the Riksdag. Some of his tasks were previously handled by the Monarch of Sweden. However in 1974, with the new Instrument of Government, the monarch was stripped of all political powers, of which many were transferred to the Speaker. The monarch remained the head of state with only ceremonial duties.
The position of Speaker is the highest ranking position a person may be elected to in Sweden. The monarch outranks the Speaker since he is head of state. However since that position is hereditary a person cannot be elected to become the monarch. The Speaker outranks the Prime Minister of Sweden.
In case the entire Swedish Royal Family is out of the country, the Speaker usually assumes the role of head of state.
The Speaker does not take part in the parliamentary debates, nor does he participate in the committee work of the Riksdag. While the Speaker is one of the elected representatives of the Riksdag, he is expected to remain unbiased and objective in regards to the political issues that are processed there. The Speaker has no vote in the Riksdag, but uses his vote as a member of the Riksdag if a tie appears.
One of the more important aspects of the work of the Speaker is to head the negotiations concerning the forming of a new government in case there is a shift of power after an election. The speaker proposes the new Prime Minister. In many other parliamentary democracies the handover is headed by the head of state.
