Swedish municipal reforms of 1862

The Swedish municipal reforms of 1862 defined new Swedish local governments, called Kommun in Swedish and usually called municipalities in English.

Before the 1862 reform, local governments in Sweden were based on church parishes and were integrated with churches. The 1862 reforms included a constitutional change creating secular local governments.[1]

The 1862 reforms assigned governmental functions to 2,498 municipalities and 25 county councils.[2] Most municipalities had a small population.[3] Later reforms reduced this number sharply to about 290 today. The municipalities had authority to tax and became the providers of most welfare services to individuals, the scope of which is defined by national laws.[3][4]

The reform defined who could vote in municipal elections, which also started in 1862. The class of voters was perhaps larger than ever before in Sweden. Taxpaying people and companies could vote, but poor people could not. Women could vote in local elections if they were of adult age, unmarried, and had a high enough independent income or property.[5] Increasingly democratic elections were held later starting in 1919.[3]

Relations between municipalities and county councils are not hierarchical; they are self-governing with their own elected officials and have different responsibilities.[4] Citizens have a right to make a case against the municipal government in court.[6]

Historical contexts

The 1862 reform was an early part of a long trend of reforms separating the Swedish church from the Swedish state.[1]

The Swedish municipality laws were part of a wave of changes to European constitutions that defined and recognized local government entities — Switzerland (1803), France (1831), Belgium (1831), Denmark (1837), Norway (1837), Netherlands (1848), Sweden (1862), and Finland (1865).[7] These changes reduced the power of national-level bureaucrats in favor of more local control.[8]

Naming, lexicography

The reforms are sometimes referred to as the 1862 Decree of Local Self-Government,[6] or the Local Government Ordinances. The Swedish Constitution is sometimes called the Instrument of Government.[4] The Constitutional article defining the role and powers of local government is identified in some sources as article 7.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Aniansson, Britt Hägerhäll; Lohm, Ulrik (2002). "MUNICIPAL COUNCIL". In Svedin, Uno; Aniansson, Britt Hägerhäll. Sustainability, local democracy and the future: the Swedish model. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 86. ISBN 1-4020-0905-4. LIBRIS 8658432.
  2. ↑ Swedish Local Authorities - a background at SusNordic Gateway site
  3. 1 2 3 "Kingdom of Sweden" (PDF). United Cities and Local Governments. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Municipalities, county councils and regions". Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "The history of the Riksdag". Riksdag. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 Olga Miroshnyk. 2009. Institute of local self-government in Sweden. Razumkov Centre. National Security & Defence, No. 1. page 39.
  7. ↑ Rudie Hulst, André van Montfort. 2007. Inter-municipal cooperation: a widespread phenomenon. Chapter 1 of Inter-Municipal Cooperation in Europe’’. Springer. page 1. On google books
  8. ↑ Forsell, Håkan (2005). Property, tenancy & urban growth in Stockholm & Berlin, 1860-1920. Historical urban studies. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Pub. Company. p. 38. ISBN 0-7546-5507-5. LIBRIS 10224115.
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