An independent Swedish state emerged during the early 12th century. The Kingdom of Sweden was a member of the Kalmar Union (together with the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway) from 1397 to 1523. In 1809 the easternmost third of Sweden was lost to the Russian empire and transformed into the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1814 Sweden became a part of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, which Norway left in 1905 and thus the union was dissolved. The union did not have a common legislative. In 1995 Sweden joined the European Union.
 | Kingdom of Sweden(Member of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway) |  |
| Kingdom of Sweden |  |
Parliamentary history of Sweden
The Riksdag of the four Estates (1527-1866)
The roots of the modern Riksdag can be found in a 1435 meeting of the Swedish nobility in the city of Arboga. This informal organization was modified in 1527 by king Gustav I Vasa to include representatives from all the four social estates: the nobility, the clergy, the burghers (property-owning commoners in the towns such as merchants etc.), and the yeomanry (freehold farmers). The nobility was represented through the House of Lords, where the head of each family was represented. Representatives of the other three Estates were elected by their members. As the meetings could go on for months, the clergy, cities and peasants only sent as many representatives as they could afford to sustain. In the first centuries the Riksdag met in various cities around central Sweden, but from the mid 17th century, most meetings took place in Stockholm. The extra-ordinary session of the Riksdag in 1812 was held in the city of Örebro, the last time the Riksdag met outside of Stockholm.
The Riksdag wasn’t codified until the 1617 Act on the Meeting of the Estates. According to the act, the king should call the Estates at least once every three years, although this wasn’t always upheld. The act was replaced by new acts in 1723, 1810 and 1866.
The Bicameral riksdag (1866-1970)
In 1866, the Riksdag decided to reconstitute itself as a bicameral legislature, consisting of the First Chamber, with 125 members (increased to 155 members by 1968) and the Second Chamber with 190 members (increased to 233 members by 1968). The First Chamber was indirectly elected by county and city councillors, while the Second Chamber was directly elected.
The electoral system consisted of both single and multi-member constituencies with first past the post model. In 1911 a proportional system with party lists in multi member constituencies was introduced.
From 1866 to 1918 suffrage was only given to men with a certain income and/or property. In 1918 the Riksdag introduced universal and equal suffrage to both city and county council elections, as well as elections to the Second Chamber from 1921.
The legislative periods of the Second Chamber were fixed to three years, with elections in September every third year. Accordingly, extra-ordinary elections did not change the legislative period. Thus extra-ordinary elections were held in March 1887 to the 1884-1887 legislative period. These elections were followed by ordinary elections in September 1887 to the 1887-1891 legislative period. In 1920 the legislative periods were increased to four years.
The Unicameral Riksdag (1970-)
In 1970, the Riksdag reconstituted itself as a unicameral legislature, with 350 directly elected members (decreased to 349 members in 1976). The members are elected proportionally on party lists in multi-member constituencies. In order to be awarded seats, a list must receive at least four per cent of the national votes, or at least 12 per cent of the votes in one constituency. Suffrage is universal.
As with the Second Chamber, the legislative periods are fixed. From 1970 the legislative periods were three years, from 1994 the periods are four years.
The constitutional functions of the Riksdag are enumerated in the 1974 Instrument of Government (Swedish: Regeringsformen, revised in 2010), and its internal workings are specified in greater detail in the 2014 Riksdag Act (Swedish: Riksdagsordningen)
ELECTIONS IN SWEDEN
Second chamber, first past the post: 1866 l 1869 l 1872 l 1875 l 1878 l 1881 l 1884 l 1887 extra l 1887 l 1890 l 1893 l 1896 l 1899 l 1902 l 1905 l 1908
Second chamber, proportional: 1911 l 1914 extra l 1914 l 1917 l 1920 l 1921 extra l 1924 l 1928 l 1932 l 1936 l 1940 l 1944 l 1948 l 1952 l 1956 l 1958 extra l 1960 l 1964 l 1968
Unicameral: 1970 l 1973 l 1976 l 1979 l 1982 l 1985 l 1988 l 1991 l 1994 l 1998 l 2002 l 2006 l 2010 l 2014 l 2018 l 2022