Instrument of Government (1809)
The
Instrument of Government, or
Regeringsformen, adopted on
June 6,
1809 by the
Riksdag of the Estates was the
constitution of
Sweden from 1809 to
1974. It came about following the disastrous outcome in the
Finnish War, when King
Gustav IV Adolf was forced to abdicate and was succeeded by his uncle,
Charles XIII.
The loss of
Finland to
Russia in the Finnish War, settled in the
Treaty of Fredrikshamn, provided momentum for the
Swedish nobility and other forces to depose the king and restore political power to parliament. For half a century, starting in
1719, often referred to as the
age of liberty, Sweden had enjoyed parliamentary rule under the
Riksdag of the Estates, but in
1772 that was ended by a
coup d'etat perpetrated by
Gustav III. The coup enabled Gustav III to rule as an
enlightened despot.
The aged and childless brother of Gustav III,
Charles XIII was made king in 1809, but he was a mere puppet in the hands of parliament and the question of his successor had to be solved. The election, by parliament, of the French Marshal
Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte in
1810, provided not only a successor, but also a vital regent and a new dynasty. The rights of Bernadotte's successors to accede to the Swedish throne wew codified in an amendment to the constitution in the form of the
Act of Succession (1810).
The Instrument of Government of 1809 replaced the
Instrument of Government from 1772. It established a separation of powers between the executive branch (the King) and the legislative branch (the Riksdag of the Estates) and gave King and parliament joint power over legislation. This meant that the power of the King was reduced compared to the
enlightened absolutism of Gustav III, but it enabled the King to take a more active role in politics than during the Age of Liberty. In
1975, it was replaced by a new
Instrument of Government, which made Sweden also formally a
parliamentary monarchy.
During the period when it was in force several important reforms took place without affecting its status. In
1866 the
Four Estates were replaced by a
bicameral parliament, and in
1876 the office of the
Prime Minister of Sweden was introduced. In the early
20th century universal suffrage was introduced and the country became a
de facto parliamentary monarchy. In
1970 the parliament was transformed from a
bicameral legislature to the unicameral
Riksdag.
*
History of Sweden*
Politics of Sweden*
Constitution of Sweden*
Privy Council of Sweden*
Regeringsform 1809 - at Wikisource (in Swedish)
*
Swedish historical documents - at Wikisource
