The Swedish constitution of 1974 allows the

Prime Minister of Sweden The prime minister ( sv, statsminister ; literally translating to "Minister of State") is the head of government of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subj ...

to appoint one of the Ministers in the cabinet as

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

(, also unofficially known as , "Vice Prime Minister"), in case the Prime Minister for some reason is prevented from performing his or her duties. However, if a Deputy Prime Minister has not been appointed, the Minister in the cabinet who has served the longest time (and if there are several with equal experience the one who is oldest) takes over as head of government. Note that the person acting as Prime Minister does not do so on a permanent basis: if a Prime Minister dies, resigns or loses a vote of confidence in the Riksdag, the

Speaker of the Riksdag The speaker of the Riksdag ( sv, Riksdagens talman) is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the national unicameral legislature in Sweden. The Riksdag underwent profound changes in 1867, when the medieval Riksdag of the Estates was abolis ...

will then confer with the parties of the Riksdag and propose a new Prime Minister, who must be tolerated by a majority of the Riksdag. A Prime Minister who has resigned or lost a vote of confidence will remain the head of a government ''ad interim'' until the new Prime Minister assumes office. The only case where the governmental line of succession becomes relevant is when the Prime Minister dies (upon which the person next in the line of succession serves as the head of a government ''ad interim'') or when the Prime Minister is on leave or for any other reason incapable of serving, but still remains in office. This might be compared to the presidential line of succession in the United States, where the person next in line assumes the Presidency throughout the remainder of the term if the President dies, resigns or is impeached.

References

Government of Sweden {{Sweden-stub