The 1720 Instrument of Government ( sv, regeringsform) adopted on 2 May 1720 by 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 ...

(Swedish parliament), was the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

from 1720 to 1772, and was thus in force for almost the entirety of the period of

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

known as the

Age of Liberty In Swedish and Finnish history, the Age of Liberty ( sv, frihetstiden; fi, vapauden aika) was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with Charles XII's death in 1718 ...

, having replaced the largely identical

Instrument of Government (1719) The 1719 Instrument of Government ( sv, regeringsform) adopted on 21 February 1719 by the Riksdag of the Estates (Swedish parliament), was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1719 to 1720. Although only in force for a few months, it ha ...

. The decision to enact a new constitution so soon after the previous one was prompted by the decision of Queen Ulrika Eleonora to abdicate in favour of her husband Frederick of Hesse, who thus became King Frederick I. The Riksdag disapproved of this manoeuvre and suspected Frederick of having ambitions of restoring

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

, and so in exchange for ratifying his accession as king it forced him to accept a new constitution, which imposed tighter restrictions upon royal power than its predecessor. In most respects, however, the 1720 Instrument was identical to that of 1719. The 1720 Instrument of Government remained in force for fifty years, before being replaced by the 1772 Instrument of Government, which ended the period of

constitutionalism Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...

and restored absolutism in Sweden.

Description

The 1719 and 1720 Instruments of Government replaced the Carolean absolute monarchy with a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, where the king shared power with the

. The Riksdag comprised four estates (the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, burghers and

peasantry A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

), each consisting of a number of representatives elected by members of the respective social groups. Women were granted limited suffrage, providing they were taxpaying guild members of legal majority.Åsa Karlsson-Sjögren: Männen, kvinnorna och rösträtten : medborgarskap och representation 1723–1866 ("Men, women and the vote: citizenship and representation 1723–1866") (in Swedish) The

executive functions In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions (collectively referred to as executive function and cognitive control) are a set of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior: selecting and succe ...

of government were discharged by the

Council of the Realm The Council of the Realm ( es, Consejo del Reino) was a corporate organ of Francoist Spain, created by the Law of Succession to the Headship of the State of 1947. Within the institutional complex created to hierarchize the regime of Francisco Fran ...

( sv, riksråd), which consisted of 16 members drawn from the first three estates of the Riksdag. The councillors were appointed by the Riksdag: each of the first three estates nominated three candidates for cabinet posts to the king, who was then allowed to select his preference from the three choices. The king was also permitted to participate in the Council's decision-making, and although he had to vote on decisions like any other member of the Council, his vote counted double that of the ordinary Councillors.

References

Sources

* * {{Constitutions of Sweden, state=collapsed 1720 in law Constitution of Sweden Defunct constitutions 1720 in Sweden 1720 in politics