Sweden: Sweden since 1814

Sweden since 1814

The history of 19th-century Sweden, under Charles XIV (reigned 1818–44), Oscar I (1844–59), Charles XV (1859–72), and Oscar II (1872–1907), was one of progressive liberalization in government and of industrial development. Freedom of the press (1844) and internal free trade (1864) were established, and the suffrage bill of 1865 enfranchised the middle class. The accelerated industrial development of the late 19th cent. was accompanied by the rise of the Social Democratic party, which dominated Swedish politics after 1920. From 1870 to 1914 about 1.5 million Swedes emigrated to the United States, mostly to the Midwest.

Relations with Norway were strained throughout the 19th cent., and in 1905 the union of Norway and Sweden was peacefully terminated. Under Gustavus V (reigned 1907–50), Sweden averted involvement in World War I and II, making armed neutrality the basis of its foreign policy, and, except for the early 1920s and early 1930s, enjoyed economic prosperity. Universal taxpayer suffrage was introduced in 1907, and in 1910 a workers' compensation insurance law began the long series of Swedish welfare legislation. Sweden entered the United Nations in 1946, and Dag Hammarskjöld, a Swedish diplomat, was secretary-general of the organization from 1953 until his death in 1961. In 1950, Gustavus VI ascended the throne; he was succeeded in 1973 by Charles XVI Gustavus. Sweden refused to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 in order not to compromise its neutrality, and for similar reasons withdrew its first application for full membership in the European Community in 1971.

The Social Democrats, led by Tage Erlander from 1946 to 1969 and thereafter by Olof Palme, controlled the government after 1945, usually at the head of coalition governments. Considerable new social welfare legislation was passed, but from the mid-1960s Swedish economic growth slowed, and there were sizable increases in unemployment and in the rate of inflation in the early 1970s. Palme was replaced in 1976 by Thorbjörn Fälldin, a Center party member who led a coalition that ended 44 years of domination by the Social Democrats.

The period was marked by a heated national debate over nuclear power. Fälldin resigned in 1978 when he was forced to compromise on his decision to halt the building of nuclear power plants. Ola Ullsten became prime minister briefly, but Fälldin was returned to power after a general election in 1979. A 1980 referendum called for the phasing out of nuclear power, but in the subsequent decades most nuclear power plants remained in operation, and in 2010 legislation allowed for the issuing of permits for the construction of new nuclear power plants. In 1982 the Social Democrats resumed power under the leadership of Olof Palme, who was assassinated by an unidentified gunman in 1986. Palme was succeeded by Ingvar Carlsson. In 1991 the Social Democrats lost power and Carl Bildt, a Conservative, became prime minister; his government enacted austerity measures.

Carlsson and the Social Democrats were returned to power in the 1994 elections. Sweden joined the European Union in 1995. Carlsson resigned as prime minister in 1996 and was succeeded by his finance minister, Göran Persson, who continued in office following the 1998 elections, despite a setback for the Social Democrats. In 2002, Swedish voters again returned the Social Democrats to power, this time with an increased percentage of the vote. Sweden, which deregulated many sectors of its economy while retaining its welfare state, has generally experienced steady growth since the mid-1990s.

A center-right coalition, led by the Moderate party, defeated the Social Democrats in Sept., 2006. Fredrik Reinfeldt, leader of the Moderates, became prime minister of a four-party coalition in October. After the Sept., 2010, elections Reinfeldt's coalition remained in power, having won the largest bloc of seats, though short of a majority.

Four years later the Social Democrats won a plurality and formed a minority government with the Greens; Stefan Löfven became prime minister. In Dec., 2014, however, Löfven called for new elections after the government lost a budget vote, but the government and center-right opposition soon reached a budget deal. The Sept., 2018, elections resulted in nearly equal blocs of seats for the Social Democrat-led and Moderate-led coalitions, with both significantly short of a majority; the remainder were won by the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. After protracted negotiations, Löfven re-formed his government with the acquiescence of several smaller parties. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sweden chose to impose relatively few restrictions compared to its neighbors and suffered significantly more deaths while overall experiencing relatively similar negative economic effects. In June 2021, the Swedish parliament passed a vote of no confidence against Löfven, and subsequently in November finance minister Magdalena Andersson briefly headed a new coalition government, the first female to serve as prime minister. However, her coalition collapsed after only seven hours when its proposed budget was defeated for one supported by the far-right opposition.

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