The
Privy Council, or
Riksrådet, was the principal government institution of
Sweden from
1319 to
1974.
The Privy Council originated as a council of personal advisers to the Monarch where the foremost advisor received the title of Earl of Jarl. The last Earl of Sweden was Birger Jarl who died in 1266 and during the reign of king Magnus I of Sweden between 1275 and 1290 the informal meetings became a permanent institution called the Royal Council or Kungligt råd. In 1319 the name had been changed to Rikets råd or Council of the Realm, and had the offices of Lord Chancellor (Kansler), Chief Justfice (Drots) and Constable (Marsk).
The Royal declaration of
1611, the
Constitution of
1634 and government under King
Gustavus Adolphus and Chancellor
Axel Oxenstierna layed a foundation for the modern Sweden. The current administrative subdivision into
Counties is a legacy from this time. The senior posts of the Privy Council had been expanded to five:
King
Charles XII had issued a new working order for the Privy Council Chancellery in
1713 to enable him to conduct government from the field. This provided opportunity for
Riksdag of the Estates to influence the
Constitutions of 1719 and
1721, that gave Sweden
half a century of parliamentary government. The Privy Council now had 16 members, was lead by the king, where each councilor had one vote, except for the king who had two. The Council was the government of the kingdom but also the supreme judicial authority. The estates could remove displeasing councilors, a tenet of parliamentary power and the majority would appoint the Chancellery President who was the first among equals in the Council. The
Freedom of the Press Act was established during this period,
1766.
This parliamentary government would remain until the bloodless Coup d'Etat, or Revolution, perpetrated by king Gustav III in 1772 which restored royal sovereignty, under dictatorial forms. The loss of the Finnish War in 1809 by his son Gustav IV Adolf restored initiative to the Estates which used it to remove the King and replace him with a new dynasty and a new constitution.
On
June 6,
1809 the new
Constitution was adopted, and while the King still controlled the Council; the powers of Government had to be shared with the
Estates. The Privy Council was revived, now with nine members where the leading members were the Prime Minister of State and the Prime Minister of Justice. The departmental reform of
1840 successfully created seven departments, or ministries, under the Council to better organize the tasks of government. In
1866 the Estates were abolished and the new
Riksdag was organized in two chambers. The office
Prime Minster was instituted in
1876, with
Louis de Geer as the first head of Government.
In 1917 the parliamentarian principles had been firmly established in Swedish politics and the Monarch was no longer able to exercise any of his constitutionally granted political powers. The Government depended politically on support from the Parliament, but the powers were still exercised under the Royal authority of the Privy Council. The Swedish term used for the council, i. e. the Government, during this period was Kungl. Maj:t, an abbreviation of Kungligt Majestät (i Konselj), or Royal Majesty (in Council) in English.
In
1974 a new
Instrument of Government replaced the previous one from 1809, which abolished the Privy Council as an active Government institution and replaced it, also formally, with a
Cabinet Government under the
Parliament.
Its function since 1975 has been limited to the initial meeting by each new Cabinet, which are held in Council, at the Royal Castle[?], chaired by the King, following approval by Parliament.
See also: History of Sweden, List of Swedish monarchs, Privy Council of the British monarch