The Committee on the Constitution ( sv, konstitutionsutskottet) (KU) is a

parliamentary committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

in the Swedish

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

. The committee's responsibilities include examining issues relating to the

Swedish Constitution The Basic Laws of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges grundlagar) are the four constitutional laws of the Kingdom of Sweden that regulate the Swedish political system, acting in a similar manner to the constitutions of most countries. These four laws are: t ...

and

Administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

s, as well as examining the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

's performance of duties and the handling of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

matters. The committee's activities are regulated by the Riksdag. Given the committee's significant power, it has been agreed since 1991 that the Speaker of the committee shall come from the opposition party. Since October 2022, the Speaker of the committee has been Ida Karkiainen from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, and the vice-Speaker of the committee is "to be elected" from the

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( sv, Moderata samlingspartiet , ; M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a liberal-conservative political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free market, civil liberties and economic liber ...

. The committee is made up of seventeen elected

members of the Riksdag Members of Parliament (Swedish: ''riksdagsledamöter'', singular: ''riksdagsledamot'') in Sweden sit in the Riksdag. Description ''Members of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the Riksdag. In Swedish, an MP is usually referred to a ...

with representation from all

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

History

The first Swedish legislative committee founded for the purpose of watching over the constitution was in May 1809, at the time of the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...

. The committee played an important role in the development of the new form of government that was adopted on 6 June in the same year. The first Speaker of the committee was Lars August Mannerheim, and the first Secretary of the committee was

Hans Järta Hans Järta (originally Hans Hierta) (11 February 1774 – 6 April 1847) was a Swedish administrator, revolutionary and philosopher. He helped overthrow Gustavus IV Adolphus in the Coup of 1809 and was one of the main drafters of the 1809 cons ...

. The committee was permanently established by the

Instrument of Government The Instrument of Government was a constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653, it was the first sovereign codified and written constitution in England. Antecedence The '' ...

§53
in 1809, which describes the committee's function:

''To bring issues concerning changes in the constitutions and opinions thereof to the attention of the estates of the state, and to review the minutes kept by the Government''

Its tasks are similarly set out by §§ 105-107 of the ''Riksdagsstadgan'' (parliamentary rules):

''The principal function remains unchanged, but a function has to adapt itself to modern society's conditions and the change in state.''

Tasks

The concerns of the Committee on the Constitution are the Swedish constitutions and the Riksdag's rules of procedure, and the committee is an important element of the Riksdag's power. The committee oversees legislation on the constitution and administrative law; on television, radio and film; press and party support; the Riksdag, offices in the Riksdag, such as the National Audit Office and the

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

(but not the

Riksbank Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the ''Riksbank'', is the central bank of Sweden. It is the world's oldest central bank and the fourth oldest bank in operation. Etymology The first part of the word ''riksbank'', ''riks'', stems from the Swedish ...

); review of government ministers; freedom of the

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

and

expression Expression may refer to: Linguistics * Expression (linguistics), a word, phrase, or sentence * Fixed expression, a form of words with a specific meaning * Idiom, a type of fixed expression * Metaphorical expression, a particular word, phrase, o ...

; municipal self-government; opinion formation; and

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

. The Committee submits so-called ''KU-anmälningar'' (Constitutional Committee reports). The ongoing review is presented annually in a report, called the review report, formerly known as the "discharge report" (Swedish: ''dechargebetänkandet''). When a report about a person is sent to the committee, a hearing is then held. Since 1988, the public has been allowed to witness these hearings. It is common for the committee to criticize a government minister after a hearing, resulting in a vote of no confidence. The committee also has the last word in certain deliberations prior to a Riksdag decision.

Impeachments

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

should proceed against a government minister, it would be the Committee that decides this. The case would then go to Sweden's Supreme Court. The last time a minister was impeached in Sweden was during the mid-1800s, under the now-defunct

law (). Swedish Wikipedia on impeachments

List of speakers for the committee

Speakers before 1971 (
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
Riksdag)

*1809/1810: Lars August Mannerheim *1823: Baltzar von Platen *1828/1830: Lars August Mannerheim *1834/1835: Jakob Cederström *1840/1841: Carl Henrik Anckarsvärd *1851–1858: Gustaf Lagerbjelke *1859/1860, 1862/1863, 1867/1871: Thomas Munck af Rosenschöld *1871 (): Gustaf af Ugglas *1872/1875: Thomas Munck af Rosenschöld *1876–1887B: Magnus Hallenborg *1888:

Gunnar Wennerberg Gunnar Wennerberg (2 October 1817 – 24 August 1901) was a Swedish poet, composer and politician. Biography Wennerberg was the son of the vicar of the town of Lidköping in Västergötland, went to '' gymnasium'' in the cathedral town of Skara ...

*1888–1898: Oscar Bergius *1899:

Gustaf Åkerhielm Baron Johan Gustaf Nils Samuel Åkerhielm af Margaretelund (24 June 1833 – 2 April 1900) was a Swedish politician, a baron, a landowner, member of the Riksdag from 1859 to 1866 and from 1870 to 1900, a minister of finance from 1874 to 1875, a ...

*1900–1901: Gustaf Rudebeck *1902–1905 ( riksdagen): Hugo Blomberg *1906–1908: Hugo Blomberg *1909–1910:

Karl Staaff Karl Albert Staaff (21 January 1860 – 4 October 1915) was a Swedish liberal politician and lawyer. He was chairman of the Liberal Coalition Party (1907–1915) and served twice as Prime Minister of Sweden (1905–1906 and 1911–1914). Staaff ...

*1911:

Ernst Trygger Ernst Trygger (27 October 1857 – 23 September 1943) was a Swedish jurist professor and conservative politician. He served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1923 to 1924. He also served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1928 to 1930 in the ...

*1912: Carl Carlsson Bonde *1912: Theodor af Callerholm *1913–1917:

Nils Edén Nils Edén (25 August 1871 – 16 June 1945) was a Swedish historian and liberal politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1917 to 1920, and along with Hjalmar Branting acknowledged as co-architect of Sweden's transition from a c ...

*1918: Otto Mannheimer *1918 (urtima Riksdag): Jakob Pettersson *1919 (urtima Riksdag): Jakob Pettersson *1919 (urtima Riksdag)–1921: Viktor Larsson in Västerås *1922–1923: Sam Clason *1924: Viktor Larsson in Västerås *1925–1929: Knut von Geijer *1930–1938: Carl Axel Reuterskiöld *1939 (lagtima riksdagen)–1958 (B): Harald Hallén *1959–1964: Bengt Elmgren *1965–1972: Georg Pettersson

After 1971 (
unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...
Riksdag)

List of vice-speakers for the committee

Vice-speakers before 1971 (bicameral Riksdag)

*Johan Sjöberg 1869 *

Lars Johan Hierta Lars Johan Hierta (; 22 January 1801 – 20 November 1872) was a Swedish newspaper publisher, social critic, businessman and politician. He is best known as the founder of the newspaper '' Aftonbladet'' in 1830. Hierta was a leading agitator for ...

1871U * Pehr von Ehrenheim 1872 -1973 *Magnus Hallenborg 1874 - 1875 *Johan Sjöberg 1876 - 1878 * Johan Nordenfalk 1879 - 1880 *

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld (18 November 183212 August 1901) was a Finland-Swedish aristocrat, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic explorer. He was a member of the Fenno-Swedish Nordenskiöld family of scientists and held the title of a friher ...

1884 - 1885 *Per Siljeström 1886 *Axel Ljungman 1887A *Johan Sjöberg 1887B *Axel Ljungman 1891 - 1899 *Fredrik Barnekow 1900 - 1905L *Gullbrand Elowson 1905 1U - 1906 *Theodor af Callerholm 1907 - 1909 *Johan Fredrik Nyström 1910 *Theodor af Callerholm 1911 *

Hjalmar Branting Karl Hjalmar Branting (; 23 November 1860 – 24 February 1925) was a Swedish politician who was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) from 1907 until his death in 1925, and three times Prime Minister of Sweden. When Branting cam ...

1912 - 1914A *Sam Clason 1914B - 1917 *Viktor Larsson in Västerås 1918L - 1918U *Sam Clason 1919 - 1921 *

Arthur Engberg Jonas Arthur Engberg (1 January 1888 - 27 March 1944), was a Swedish social democratic politician. He was a Member of the Riksdag Members of Parliament (Swedish language, Swedish: ''riksdagsledamöter'', singular: ''riksdagsledamot'') in Sweden ...

1922 - 1923 *Knut von Geijer 1925 *Arthur Engberg 1926 - 1928 *Harald Hallén 1933 - 1938 *Anton Pettersson 1939L - 1939U *Gustaf Adolf Björkman 1940 - 1940U *Jones Erik Andersson 1941 - 1951 *John Pettersson 1952 -1960 *

Torsten Andersson Otto Torsten Andersson (6 June 1926 – 30 May 2009) was a Swedish modernist painter, best known for his theme of the realistic depiction of abstract sculptures, and two-dimensional exploration of three-dimensional objects, where the colors seem ...

1961 - 1968 * Gunnar Larsson 1969 - 1971

After 1971 (unicameral Riksdag)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Riksdagen - KonstitutionsutskottetRiksdag websiteConstitution Committee websitesvt.se Background: Så arbetar konstitutionsutskottet
(Swedish: ''How the Constitution Committee works'') May 24, 2007 Committees of the Riksdag