Riksdag of the Estates

Riksdag of the Estates
Kingdom of Sweden

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Sweden



Other countries · Atlas
Politics portal
view · talk · edit

The Riksdag of the Estates (Swedish: Ståndsriksdagen), was the name used for the Estates of the Swedish realm when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Four Estates, which historically were the lines of division in Swedish society:

Contents

Important assemblies

The House of Nobility, seat of the Nobility.

The meeting at Arboga in 1435 was usually considered to be the first Riksdag, but there is no indication that the fourth estate, the peasants, had been represented there[citation needed].

  • The first meeting is likely the one that took place at Uppsala in 1436 after the death of rebel leader Engelbrekt.
  • At the Riksdag in 1517, regent Sten Sture the Younger and the Privy Council deposed archbishop Gustav Trolle.
  • At Västerås in 1527 Lutheranism was adopted as the new state religion instead of Roman Catholicism
  • At Arboga in 1561, the term riksdag was used for the first time.[1]
  • At Söderköping in 1595, Duke Charles was elected regent of Sweden instead of King Sigismund, who was a Catholic and the king of both Sweden and Poland.
  • In 1612 the Riksdag gave the nobility the privilege and right to hold all higher offices of government, after successful lobbying by Axel Oxenstierna.
  • The first open conflict between the different estates happened in 1650.
  • At the Riksdag in 1680 a large scale reduction (a return of lands to the Crown earlier granted to the nobility) was enacted, and Sweden became an absolute monarchy.
  • In 1718, the Riksdag elected Ulrika Eleonora as heir in place of her older sister's son, and Ulrika Eleonora accepted a new constitution restoring the powers of the Riksdag.
  • In 1809, the Riksdag elected Charles XIII was elected King after his nephew Gustav IV Adolf had been deposed, and after the new King had accepted a new constitution that ended Sweden's second Autocracy (1789–1809).
  • At the sessions in 1634, 1719, 1720, 1772 and 1809 new constitutions were adopted.

Replaced by the new Riksdag

Representatives of the four estates on a commemorative coin (left).

The constitution of 1809 divided the powers of Government between the monarch and the Riksdag of the Estates, and after 1866 between the monarch and the new Riksdag.

In 1866 all the Estates voted in favor of dissolution and at the same time to found a new assembly, Sveriges Riksdag (the Swedish Riksdag). The four former estates were abolished. The House of Nobility, Swedish: Riddarhuset, remains as a quasi-official representation of the Swedish nobility. The modern Centre Party which grew out of the Swedish farmers' movement, could be construed as a modern representation with a traditional bond to the Estate of the Peasants.

Riksdag in Finland

Following the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden ceded its eastmost provinces to the Russian Empire. Compromising much of present-day Finland, these became a Grand Duchy under the Emperor, but the political institutions were kept practically intact. The Finnish estates assembled in 1809 at Porvoo to confirm the change in their allegiance. This Diet of Finland followed the forms of the Swedish Riksdag, being the legislative body of the new autonomous region. However, during the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I it was not assembled and no new legislation was enacted. The diet was next assembled by Czar Alexander II in 1863, due to the need to modernize the laws. After this the Diet met regularly until 1905, when it passed an act forming a new unicameral parliament. That assembly has been Finland's legislative body since then. The Finnish House of Nobility, Finnish: Ritarihuone, Swedish: Riddarhuset, carries on the tradition of the Estate of Nobility, but no new families have been ennobled since 1906.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Eriksson, Bo (2007) (in Swedish). Lützen 1632. Stockholm: Norstedts Pocket. pp. 47. ISBN 978-91-7263-790-0. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Estates — The States or the Estates signifies, in different countries and dominions, the assembly of the (feudalistic) representatives of the estates of the realm, called together for purposes of legislation or deliberation. In German speaking countries… …   Wikipedia

  • Estates of the realm — Cleric, Knight, and Workman : the three estates in a French medieval illumination The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian… …   Wikipedia

  • Riksdag — The Riksdag is the official Swedish term of the Parliament of Sweden and the Parliament of Finland (in Finland alongside the Finnish word eduskunta ). In Swedish, the word has also become commonly used as a generally term for a legislative… …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Riksdag — The Riksdag or Sveriges Riksdag is the Parliament of Sweden. However when it was founded in 1866 Sweden did not have a parliamentary system of government. The national parliaments of Estonia and Finland are also called Riksdag in Swedish. The Old …   Wikipedia

  • Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden — The Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden (Riksdag) is the speaker ( sv. talman) of the national parliament in Sweden. The Riksdag underwent changes in 1867, when the old Riksdag of the Estates institution was abolished. The new form of the Riksdag …   Wikipedia

  • Sweden during the late 19th century — History of Sweden PREHISTORIC …   Wikipedia

  • Arvid Stålarm the Younger — Arvid Stålarm, actually Arvid Eriksson (Stålarm) till Lindö i Tenala (c. 1540 or 1549 – May 1620, Gripsholm Castle) was a Swedish noble and soldier from the Finland based Stålarm family. He is sometimes called the Younger to distinguish him from… …   Wikipedia

  • Stockholm during the Age of Liberty — (1718 1772) is the period in the history of Stockholm when Sweden was governed by weak kings and a strong Riksdag where the Hats and Caps were fighting each others for influence.Nilsson, pp 187 188.] The Age of Grand Power ended with Great… …   Wikipedia

  • Axel von Fersen the Elder — Fredrik Axel von Fersen Count Fredrik Axel von Fersen (5 April 1719 24 April 1794 [1]) was a Swedish statesman and soldier. Biography A son of Lieutenant General Hans Reinhold von Fersen, he entered the Swedish Life Guards in 1740, and from 1743… …   Wikipedia

  • Erik Benzelius the younger — (January 27, 1675 September 23 1743), was a priest, theologian, librarian, and Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, 1742 1743. He was a highly learned man and one of Sweden s important Enlightenment figures.As his name indicates, he was the son of Erik …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”