Editing Monarchy of Sweden (section)

==Constitutional and official role==
{{Politics of Sweden|monarchy}}

When, on 1 January 1975, it replaced the [[Instrument of Government of 1809]] as part of the [[Basic Laws of Sweden|Constitution of Sweden]], the [[Instrument of Government (1974)|Instrument of Government of 1974]] ({{langx|sv|1974 års regeringsform}}) transformed the advisory [[King in Council (Sweden)|Council of State]] ({{lang|sv|Statsrådet}}) into the collegial [[Government of Sweden|Government]] ({{lang|sv|Regeringen}}), to which all executive power was transferred.<ref name="Nergelius:15-16">[[#Nergelius|Nergelius]]: pp. 15–16.</ref><ref name="Nergelius:33-34">[[#Nergelius|Nergelius]]: pp. 33–34.</ref> Responsibility for nominating and dismissing the [[Prime Minister of Sweden|prime minister]] (who, since 1975, is elected by the [[Riksdag]]) was transferred to the [[Speaker of the Riksdag]]; the prime minister appoints and dismisses the other [[Minister (government)|ministers]] at his or her discretion.<ref name="Nergelius:33-34"/><ref name="Forming a government">{{cite web|url=http://www.riksdagen.se/en/How-the-Riksdag-works/Democracy/Forming-a-government/|title=Forming a government|publisher=The Riksdag|access-date=2014-10-24|archive-date=9 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009160056/http://www.riksdagen.se/en/How-the-Riksdag-works/Democracy/Forming-a-government/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Larsson & Bäck:166-170">[[#Larsson & Bäck|Larsson & Bäck]]: pp. 166–170.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Speaker of the Riksdag, not the Prime Minister, is considered the second highest public office in the [[Swedish order of precedence|order of precedence]], below the head of state.<ref name="Larsson & Bäck:155">[[#Larsson & Bäck|Larsson & Bäck]]: p. 155.</ref>|group=n|name=n12}} Furthermore, bills passed by the Riksdag become law without [[royal assent]]: the prime minister or any other cabinet minister signs them "On Behalf of the Government" ({{lang|sv|På regeringens vägnar}}).<ref name="Prop. 1973:90" />

Although the unwritten precedent was set in 1917, when [[Gustaf V]] had little choice but to support the idea of a [[parliamentary system]] and promised Prime Minister [[Nils Edén]] to stop seeking advice from secret advisors other than the duly appointed cabinet ministers and not to interfere in politics again;<ref name="Lewin:112-115"/><ref name="Larsson & Bäck:65-69">[[#Larsson & Bäck|Larsson & Bäck]]: pp. 65–69.</ref> the Torekov compromise, struck in 1971 by the four major parties at the time, provided, and continues to provide, a majority consensus in Swedish political discourse on the role of the monarchy within the constitutional framework.<ref name=Bergman1999 /><ref name="The Head of State"/><ref name="Nergelius:41">[[#Nergelius|Nergelius]]: p. 41.</ref> The official motive for the radical changes which came to pass in 1975 was for it to be as descriptive as possible of the workings of the state and clear on how decisions actually are made.<ref name="Prop. 1973:90" /> Minister of Justice [[Lennart Geijer]] further remarked on the 1973 government bill that any continued pretensions of royal involvement in government decision making would be of a "fictitious nature" and therefore "highly unsatisfactory".<ref name="Prop. 1973:90" />

Thus, the monarch lost all formal executive powers, becoming a ceremonial and representative [[figurehead]].<ref name="Prop. 1973:90">Prop. 1973:90. Kungl. Maj:ts proposition med förslag till ny regeringsform och ny riksdagsordning m. m.; given Stockholms slott den 16 mars 1973. pp. 172–175.</ref><ref name="Nergelius:41"/><ref name="Larsson & Bäck:166">[[#Larsson & Bäck|Larsson & Bäck]]: p. 166.</ref> The monarch, while explicitly referred to as the "Head of State" ({{lang|sv|Statschefen}}) in the 1974 Instrument of Government,{{#tag:ref|Such as in the first article in which the monarch is mentioned: {{blockquote|'''Art. 5.''' The King or Queen who occupies the throne of Sweden in accordance with the [[Swedish Act of Succession|Act of Succession]] shall be the Head of State.<ref name="IOG 1:5">[[#IOG|The Instrument of Government]]: Chapter 1, Article 5.</ref>}}|group="n"|name="n26"}} is not even the [[wikt:nominal|nominal]] chief executive.{{#tag:ref|Given their predominance in 20th century Swedish politics, the public positions taken by the leaders of the Social Democrats are noteworthy; particularly given that their party programme does call for the abolishment of the monarchy.<ref name="Socialdemokraterna och republikfrågan" /> Party leaders and prime ministers [[Hjalmar Branting]], [[Per-Albin Hansson]] and [[Tage Erlander]] all made statements to the effect of being for a republic in principle whenever the issue was raised, but that it was not worth pursuing (presumably fearing an electoral backlash).<ref name="Åse:58-60">[[#Åse|Åse]]: pp. 58–60.</ref>
At the 1972 party congress of the Social Democrats, Prime Minister [[Olof Palme]] publicly defended the Torekov compromise, in response some members that yearned for a republic, by famously characterizing that the upcoming reforms would reduce the constitutional role of the monarchy to nothing but a "[[Plume (feather)|plume]]" ({{lang|sv|plym}}) and thus paving the way to abolish the monarchy with the ''stroke of a pen'' ({{lang|sv|penndrag}}) at some distant point in the future. Palme emphasized though that other reforms were far more important for the Social Democrats than abolishing the monarchy.<ref name="Socialdemokraterna och republikfrågan">{{cite web|url=http://www.arbark.se/2010/06/socialdemokraterna-och-republikfragan|title=Socialdemokraterna och republikfrågan|date=18 June 2010|publisher=Arbetarrörelsen arkiv och bibliotek (Swedish Labour Movement Archives and Library)|access-date=2014-12-02|archive-date=14 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114021357/http://www.arbark.se/2010/06/socialdemokraterna-och-republikfragan/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Åse:11-13">[[#Åse|Åse]]: pp. 11–13.</ref>
Successive leaders (and prime ministers) [[Ingvar Carlsson]] and Göran Persson have also defended the status quo.<ref name="Socialdemokraterna och republikfrågan" />
|group="n"|name="n24"}}<ref name="The Head of State"/><ref name="Nergelius:15-16"/><ref name=Petersson:44>[[#Petersson|Petersson]]: p. 44.</ref> The Instrument of Government of 1974 does grant the person serving as king or queen regnant [[absolute immunity]] from criminal (but not civil) charges for as long as he or she remains in office.<ref name=Nergelius:42 />{{#tag:ref|This could be interpreted as "for life", given the historical precedent: no voluntary abdication has occurred since [[Ulrika Eleonora]], in 1719 and only three hereditary monarchs have been involuntarily deposed ([[Eric XIV]] in 1568, [[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigisumnd]] 1599, and [[Gustav IV Adolf]] in 1809).|group=n|name=n14}} The monarch therefore cannot be prosecuted or otherwise held to account for his or her actions, both official and private, in judicial proceedings.<ref name=Nergelius:42>[[#Nergelius|Nergelius]]: p. 42.</ref> None of the other members of the [[Swedish Royal Family|royal family]] or the employees the [[Royal Court of Sweden|Royal Court]] enjoy similar immunity.<ref name=Nergelius:42 />

At the request of the Speaker of the Riksdag, the monarch [[Opening of the Riksdag|opens the annual session of the Riksdag]] ({{lang|sv|Riksmötets öppnande}}) in the chamber of the [[Riksdag building]].{{#tag:ref|The Riksdag Act provision in question reads:
{{blockquote|'''Special meeting for the opening of the Riksdag session'''
'''Art. 6.''' A special meeting of the Chamber for the formal opening of a Riksdag session takes
place no later than the third day of the session. At the request of the Speaker, the Head of State
declares the session open. If the Head of State is unable to attend, the Speaker declares the session
open.<br />At this meeting, the Prime Minister delivers a statement of Government policy unless there are special grounds why he or she should refrain from doing so.
<br />
'''Time of meeting for the opening of the Riksdag session'''<br />
''Supplementary provision'' '''3.6.1''' The formal opening of the session after an election to the Riksdag takes place at 2 p.m. on the second day of the session.<br />
In years in which no election to the Riksdag has been held, the formal opening takes place on the first day of the session at the same time.<br />
The Speaker may appoint another time for the meeting.<ref name="RA 3:6">[[#RA|The Riksdag Act]]: Chapter 3, Article 6.</ref>}}|group="n"|name="n25"}}<ref name="A year in the Riksdag">{{cite web|url=http://www.riksdagen.se/en/How-the-Riksdag-works/What-does-the-Riksdag-do/A-year-in-the-Riksdag/|title=A year in the Riksdag|publisher=The Riksdag|access-date=2014-10-24|archive-date=24 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024144158/http://www.riksdagen.se/en/How-the-Riksdag-works/What-does-the-Riksdag-do/A-year-in-the-Riksdag/|url-status=live}}</ref> The king or [[queen regnant]] also receives [[Letters of Credence]] of foreign ambassadors sent to Sweden and signs those of Swedish ambassadors sent abroad.<ref name="Duties of the Monarch"/> The monarch also chairs the [[Council of State (Sweden)|Cabinet Council]] ({{lang|sv|skifteskonselj}}) in a session that establishes the new government following a [[Elections in Sweden|general election]] or major cabinet reshuffle and also chairs information councils ({{lang|sv|informationskonselj}}) approximately four times a year to get information from the assembled Government, apart from that given by ministers in individual audiences or through other means.<ref name="Duties of the Monarch"/><ref name=Nergelius:41-42>[[#Nergelius|Nergelius]]: pp. 41–42.</ref> Formally, it is the explicit responsibility of the prime minister to keep the monarch informed on the affairs of the realm; the failure to do so following the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|2004 tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean]] (in which many Swedes perished) gave rise to wide criticism of Prime Minister [[Göran Persson]] for his handling of the matter.<ref name=Nergelius:42 /> The monarch also chairs the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs ({{lang|sv|Utrikesnämnden}}), a body that enables the government of the day to inform not only the head of state, but also the speaker and representatives of the opposition parties in the Riksdag, on foreign affairs issues in a confidential manner.<ref name="Duties of the Monarch"/><ref name="Nergelius:41-42" /><ref name="The Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs">{{cite web|url=http://www.riksdagen.se/en/How-the-Riksdag-works/Authorities-and-boards-under-the-Riksdag/The-Advisory-Council-on-Foreign-Affairs/|title=The Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs|publisher=The [[Riksdag]]|access-date=2014-10-24|archive-date=24 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024144059/http://www.riksdagen.se/en/How-the-Riksdag-works/Authorities-and-boards-under-the-Riksdag/The-Advisory-Council-on-Foreign-Affairs/|url-status=live}}</ref>

While the monarch is no longer the [[Commander-in-chief#Sweden|commander-in-chief]] ({{lang|sv|högste befälhavare}}) of the [[Swedish Armed Forces]], as he once was under the 1809 Instrument of Government,<ref name=Bergman1999 /> he is the foremost representative of the Swedish defence establishment and holds supreme rank in each of the service arms. He ranks as a four star [[admiral]] in the [[Swedish Navy]] and general in the [[Swedish Army]] and [[Swedish Air Force|Air Force]].<ref name="Duties of the Monarch"/> As part of his court, the monarch has a [[Staff (military)|military staff]], which is headed by a senior officer (usually a general or admiral, retired from active service) and includes active duty military officers serving as [[Aide-de-camp|aides-de-camp]] to the monarch and his or her family.<ref name="Övriga funktioner">{{cite web|url=http://www.kungahuset.se/hovstaterna/hovstaternasorganisation/ovrigafunktioner.4.19ae4931022afdcff3800017274.html|title=Övriga funktioner|publisher=The [[Royal Court of Sweden]]|language=sv|access-date=2014-10-24|archive-date=2 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602045554/http://www.kungahuset.se/hovstaterna/hovstaternasorganisation/ovrigafunktioner.4.19ae4931022afdcff3800017274.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>