How Sweden Is Governed: Forming a Government and Making a Law

Sweden's government is formed by a vote in the Riksdag (parliament), and a new law is made by the Riksdag on a proposal that usually comes from that government. The Riksdag decides who governs, and the government then proposes most of what the Riksdag turns into law.

This guide is for every resident of Sweden and for anyone reading Swedish news who wants the system explained once, in order. It is not a guide to your own case. Visiting Sweden for a trip? Go to Planning a Trip. Following the vote itself? Start with how Swedish elections work. You need no permit, personnummer or membership to read it. Some civic rights depend on status, and the voting rights guide covers who can vote.

All rules below are as of October 2026, per the authority named beside each one.

Riksdag, government and talman: who does what

Three bodies matter here, and one fixed point sits above them.

• Riksdagen is the parliament. Regeringsformen (RF, the main constitutional law, SFS 1974:152) says in 1 kap. 4 §: "Riksdagen är folkets främsta företrädare. Riksdagen stiftar lag, beslutar om skatt till staten och bestämmer hur statens medel ska användas."
• Regeringen is the government. RF 1 kap. 6 §: "Regeringen styr riket. Den är ansvarig inför riksdagen." It consists of the statsminister and the other statsråd (ministers) (RF 6 kap. 1 §).
• Talmannen is the Speaker of the Riksdag, who runs the process of choosing a statsminister.

The fixed point is the head of state. RF 1 kap. 5 §: "Konungen eller drottning som enligt successionsordningen innehar Sveriges tron är rikets statschef." The monarch is head of state, but RF 1 kap. 6 § gives the task of governing to regeringen, not to the monarch.

RF is one of Sweden's four grundlagar (fundamental laws) (RF 1 kap. 3 §). Ordinary laws, called lagar, sit below them. Riksdagsordningen (RO, SFS 2014:801) is the Riksdag's own rulebook, with some provisions that need grundlag-style procedure to change.

How the national, regional and local levels relate

The Riksdag and regeringen act for the whole country. Below them sit two levels of elected self-government. According to Regeringen, as of October 2026, Sweden has 21 län (counties), 21 regioner (regions) and 290 kommuner (municipalities). Regioner and kommuner are self-governing and run by locally elected politicians, and that self-government is set out in the constitution.

In practice, healthcare is the largest task of a region, at about 90 percent of its spending. A kommun, per Regeringen, runs schools, preschools, elderly care and water, and issues permits such as bygglov. Per Regeringen, the basic rules for how regioner and kommuner are organised sit in kommunallagen. On Gotland, the kommun also carries out the region's tasks. Who can vote in kommun and region elections is a different rule; see EU, Norway and Iceland citizens' municipal vote.

EU law adds a third source of rules. Per Regeringen, many Swedish laws are based on EU decisions. An EU förordning (regulation) applies directly. An EU direktiv (directive) must first be turned into Swedish law.

How a government forms: negativ parlamentarism and nine steps

Negativ parlamentarism, explained

Negativ parlamentarism means a government does not need a majority for it. It needs only that no majority is against it. A minority government can therefore take office if enough members abstain, and it can govern as long as the Riksdag does not vote it down.

Nine steps from election to ministers

The steps below follow Riksdagen's page on how a government forms and regeringsformen 6 kap. Both are as of October 2026.

1. Election. The Riksdag is elected every four years. Its 349 seats are filled by free, secret and direct elections (RF 3 kap. 1, 2 and 3 §§).
2. Statsministeromröstning (vote on the sitting statsminister). RF 6 kap. 3 §: "En nyvald riksdag ska senast två veckor efter det att den samlats genom omröstning pröva frågan om statsministern har tillräckligt stöd i riksdagen. Om mer än hälften av riksdagens ledamöter röstar nej, ska statsministern entledigas." The vote is not held if the statsminister has already been dismissed. Once a statsminister has been dismissed, the talman process below starts.
3. The talman explores support. In practice the talman may first give a party leader a sonderingsuppdrag (exploratory assignment) to find out what support a government could have, per Riksdagen. This is practice, not a rule in RF.
4. The talman consults. RF 6 kap. 4 §: "När en statsminister ska utses, kallar talmannen företrädare för varje partigrupp inom riksdagen till samråd."
5. The talman proposes. After talking with the vice talmän (deputy speakers), the talman puts a name to the chamber, in Riksdagen's words "så läggs förslaget fram i riksdagens kammare".
6. The Riksdag votes on the proposal. The vote is held under RF 6 kap. 4 §: "Riksdagen ska inom fyra dagar, utan beredning i utskott, pröva förslaget genom omröstning." In Riksdagen's words, that is "senast på fjärde dagen efter den dag då förslaget lagts fram".
7. A rejection needs more than half. RF 6 kap. 4 §: "Om mer än hälften av riksdagens ledamöter röstar mot förslaget, är det förkastat. I annat fall är det godkänt." More than half of 349 is at least 175. Abstentions therefore do not sink a candidate.
8. If rejected, the talman tries again. RF 6 kap. 5 §: "Förkastar riksdagen talmannens förslag, ska förfarandet enligt 4 § upprepas. Har riksdagen fyra gånger förkastat talmannens förslag, ska förfarandet avbrytas och återupptas först sedan val till riksdagen har hållits. Om inte ordinarie val ändå ska hållas inom tre månader, ska extra val hållas inom samma tid."
9. The statsminister names the ministers. Per Regeringen: "Statsministern väljer själv vilka och hur många statsråd som ska ingå i regeringen."

Step 8 has a date rule. If no ordinary election is due within three months anyway, an extra election must be held within those three months (RF 6 kap. 5 §).

An outgoing government does not leave a gap. Per Regeringen, it stays on as an övergångsregering (caretaker government) until a new one takes office, and it may not decide on an extra election.

Removing a government

Once in office, a government can be removed. Per Regeringen, as of October 2026: "Om minst 35 av riksdagens ledamöter saknar förtroende för ett statsråd kan de begära att en misstroendeomröstning genomförs." A motion for a misstroendeförklaring (no-confidence declaration) must be made by at least one tenth of the members, which with 349 members is 35, and it succeeds if more than half of the members vote for it (RF 13 kap. 4 §). No such motion can be taken up between an election and the new Riksdag meeting (RF 13 kap. 4 §). If it succeeds, the talman dismisses the statsråd (RF 6 kap. 7 §). The dismissal does not happen if the government calls an extra election within a week of the vote (RF 6 kap. 7 §), but a government cannot call one in the first three months after a new Riksdag meets (RF 3 kap. 11 §). A dismissed statsminister takes the whole government with them.

How a law is made: the chain from inquiry to SFS

Per Regeringen, as of October 2026: "Lagar börjar vanligtvis med ett förslag från regeringen, en så kallad proposition." Regeringen submits about 200 propositioner to the Riksdag each year. A law can also start as a motion, a proposal from one or more Riksdag members. The usual government route has eight steps.

1. Kommittédirektiv (committee directive). When an issue needs a full investigation, the government appoints a särskild utredare (single investigator) or a kommitté. The directive sets out the question and when the inquiry is due, per Regeringen on utredningar och kommittéer.
2. SOU (Statens offentliga utredningar, official inquiries). The finished report is a betänkande (inquiry report), published in the SOU series. If the ministry investigates itself, the result is published in the Departementsserien (Ds).
3. Remiss (consultation). The report goes to authorities, organisations, municipalities and others for comment. Regeringen: "Regeln är att remissen ska vara skriftlig och att de som vill svara ska få minst tre månader på sig att skicka in sina synpunkter." Regeringen adds that the public may also comment.
4. Lagrådsremiss. The government drafts the bill and, per Regeringen, "vanligtvis" sends it to Lagrådet (the Council on Legislation). Lagrådet checks that the draft does not clash with the constitution or other laws, per Regeringen on Lagrådet.
5. Proposition (government bill). The government sends the proposal to the Riksdag. Riksdagen: "De flesta lagar börjar med att regeringen lämnar ett förslag till riksdagen, en proposition."
6. Committee (utskott). The bill is announced in the chamber, called bordläggning. Riksdagen: "Det finns 15 utskott som vart och ett har sina egna ansvarsområden." Regeringen: the committee gives its view in a utskottsbetänkande before the Riksdag takes its final decision.
7. Chamber vote. Riksdagen: "Besluten i kammaren avgörs antingen genom omröstning via voteringsknappar i ledamöternas bänkar, eller genom acklamation."
8. Issue and publication (SFS). RF 8 kap. 19 §: "En beslutad lag ska utfärdas av regeringen så snart som möjligt." Riksdagen adds: "Efter att riksdagen beslutat om en ny lag ska regeringen se till att lagen publiceras i Svensk författningssamling, SFS."

When a law takes effect

A Riksdag vote does not by itself put a rule to work. The government first issues the law and publishes it in SFS (Svensk författningssamling, the official statute series). Per Regeringen, since 1 April 2018 laws are announced by being published on svenskforfattningssamling.se.

The start date is then written into the law itself. Lag (1976:633) om kungörande av lagar och andra författningar, 13 §: "Av författning skall framgå när den träder i kraft." The same law says in 5 §: "En författning ska anses kungjord när den har publicerats i Svensk författningssamling på webbplatsen."

To find the date a change applies from, open the law on svenskforfattningssamling.se and read its ikraftträdande (entry into force) provision. The law sets the date, so there is no general start date for all laws.

Where this touches your life: law, förordning and the parties

A Swedish förordning (an ordinance issued by the government, RF 8 kap. 7 §; not the same thing as an EU förordning) is a rule issued below the level of a lag. A change in a lag needs the full chain above. Check which of the two a rule is before you assume a Riksdag vote was involved.

To see where parties stand, read Swedish political parties explained. For seat arithmetic, see the mandate math guide. The wider area is in Elections, Politics & Rights.