Sweden

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, Swedish Sverige (IPA: / 'sværjɛ /) and Konungariket Sverige ([ko: .nɵ.ŋa.ˌri: .kət svær: .jə] pronunciation of the title in its original version listen), is a country in northern Europe, which is part of Scandinavia. Its capital is Stockholm and its inhabitants are called Swedes. The language is Swedish. Finnish and Sami are also spoken, mainly in the north. Regional variations are common.

Sweden shares borders with Norway to the west and one with Finland in the north-east. South, Denmark, to which the country is connected by the Øresund Bridge is 4 miles wide. Northern Sweden is occupied by Lapland, called Sápmi by its inhabitants, the Sami, who were the first inhabitants of northern Scandinavia.

Sweden is part of the European Union since 1995, but not in the euro zone.

With an area measuring 449,964 km2, Sweden is the third largest western European country after France and Spain. Sweden has a low population density, except in metropolitan areas. The urbanization rate is 84%, whereas cities occupy qu'1,3% of the territory. Saving the environment and the problem of renewable energy are usually the priority of politicians, as well as a large part of the population.

Sweden has long been a major exporter of iron, copper and wood. Industrialization, which began in the 1890s, has allowed Sweden to develop, and get constantly these days a good place in the European rankings on the Human Development Index (HDI). Sweden has large supplies of drinking water, but lack of fossil fuels such as coal or oil.

Modern Sweden comes from the Kalmar Union, created in 1397, the country was united in the sixteenth century by King Gustav Vasa. In the seventeenth century, Sweden conquer new territories and form a colonial empire. However, most of these areas will be abandoned in the eighteenth century. In the early nineteenth century, Finland and other territories are lost. After its last war in 1814, Sweden has been at peace, adopting a policy of non-alignment in peacetime and neutrality in wartime.

According to the Democracy Index of the Economist, Sweden in 2008 the most democratic country in the world with an index of 9.88 / 103. In addition, 31 December 2010, she received the Excellence Award 2010 (best known countries).

The reign of Gustav Vasa was characterized by the adoption of the Protestant Reformation, a new state-building and greater participation of citizens in public decisions through the creation of an assembly to four bedrooms (the Riksdag). Gustavus Vasa, builder and peaceful king, is often considered the father of the Swedish nation.

During the seventeenth century, Sweden has gradually asserted as a great European power, in part because of his commitment to profitable Thirty Years War, on the initiative of King Gustav II Adolf. The interior of the kingdom also experienced profound modernizing reforms through the action of Count Axel Oxenstierna.

This stronghold fell in the eighteenth century, when Russia imposed its domination in Northern Europe after the Great Northern War, before finally granted in 1809 to the eastern half of the country and make the Grand Duchy of Finland, under Russian administration.

King Gustav III of Sweden, following a coup in 1772, put an end to the constitutional regime established by the Riksdag in 1719 and ruled as a despot, establishing an absolute monarchy which will end in 1809, when Sweden became a constitutional monarchy.

The French marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected heir to the throne and the king of Sweden by the name of Charles XIV John of Sweden. His dynasty still reigns over Sweden. The rest of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, until 1917 when the parliamentary finally pulled winner signified a slow transfer of power from the king to the Riksdag.

Contemporary history of Sweden is remarkably peaceful, last known by the country was a campaign against Norway in 1814, after which a personal union of the crowns was established in Swedish domination war. It was disbanded in 1905 when Norway declared its independence but without causing conflict.

The first ceremony took place Nobel Prize at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm in 1901 Since 1902, prices have officially awarded by the King of Sweden.

Sweden managed to remain neutral during the First and Second World Wars, with the notable exception of the logistical and military support to Finland during the attempted Soviet invasion of 1939-1940. Following the failure of the establishment of a Scandinavian Defence Union, the country persisted in its policy of neutrality during the Cold War until today and is a member of any treaty of alliance military. However, it joined the European Union in 1995.

Sweden is a monarchy for almost a millennium. Since the Middle Ages, peasants taxed were one of the four chambers of the States General of the kingdom: Ståndsriksdagen (in).

Executive power until 1680 was divided between the king and the Council of the Swedish nobility. There followed a period of absolute monarchy exercised by the king. In response to the fiasco of the Great Northern War, the parliamentary system was reintroduced in 1719, followed by three different forms of constitutional monarchy in 1772, 1789 and finally in 1809, when Sweden's first constitution was signed by the king, that there committed to ensuring more freedoms.

In 1866, Ståndsriksdagen was finally dissolved and replaced by a bicameral parliamentary system, the Riksdag: the First Chamber was indirectly elected by large local voters, and the Second Chamber was directly elected.

Parliamentarism was reinforced in 1917 when King Gustav V, after decades of political confrontation that left fearing a revolution, now agreed to appoint ministers to gain the confidence of the majority in Parliament. The democratization of the system was completed in 1918 with the adoption of universal suffrage. Voter turnout has always been high in Sweden: the rate of 80% in the 2002 elections [Ref [Which?]. desired] is the lowest ever recorded.

Social democracy has played a dominant political role since 1917, when the Reform branch was strengthened and the revolutionary branch [Which?] Left the party [ref. desired]. The influence of the social democratic current Swedish society is often described as hegemonic. The coalition of centrist and social democratic assured a stable government from 1932 to 1956 Thereafter, political life has been totally dominated by only the Social Democrats, often supported by Marxists and Greens Vänsterpartiet Miljöpartiet.

In 1971 the Riksdag became unicameral. Under the Constitution, the 349 members of the Riksdag ultimate authority in Sweden. The Assembly may amend the Constitution by a qualified majority. Legislative initiative comes concurrently ministers and parliamentarians. They are elected for four years on the basis of proportional representation.

The 1990s also saw the reform of the pension system in Sweden. To achieve this, the country has waited 1999, after a long process of social dialogue and the search for a compromise ensuring a unanimous vote in parliament, and instead welcomed by the business community, as judged politically and financially stronger than system that had prevailed for décennies5. The main principles of this great reform outlined in 1991 by Ingvar Carlsson5 Social Democratic government. After a process of consultation between the Social Democrats and a coalition of parties from the center and the right led by Carl Bildt, which lasted from 1991 to 1994, the reform has successfully tackled a first vote in Parliament in 1994, its principles, then a second time on the entire legislation in 1998 nearly 80% of MPs who voted favorably, this reform cements the national consensus, politically.