Defence Act of 1925 (Sweden)

The Defence Act of 1925 was a defence act passed by the Swedish Riksdag on 26 May 1925 and came into force on 1 January 1928. The Act specified how the Swedish Armed Forces would operate during the coming years. The Act resulted in a policy of disarmament. The Act would remain effective until the Defence Act of 1936.

The new order of battle meant that the number of Army Divisions was decreased to 4. 17 military units were disbanded and conscription time was lowered to 140 days for most conscripts. Many conscripts were transferred to the Army Reserve. The Army and Naval air powers were combined into the Swedish Air Force.

The Edén Cabinet had in 1919 started an investigation into the Swedish Armed Forces in order to lower the high defence expenditure the Defence Act of 1914 had resulted in. The investigation concluded in 1923 and the right-wing majority had decided on an expenditure cap of 120 million Swedish crowns per year, 62 million less than the Defence Act of 1914 stipulated.

The political parties all made differing judgements on how large of a war force Sweden needed. The political right claimed that Russia represented a long-term threat to Sweden, and that Russia's political and economic troubles during the 1920s were just temporary. They also believed - due to Sweden's entry in to the League of Nations - that the risk of Sweden being dragged in to war had increased.

The liberal Free-minded National Association referred to the weakened powers of Germany and Russia, the creation of the League of Nations and the war exhaustion that many nations were suffering through as a result of the First World War. The Free-minded had major hopes for international treaties regarding disarmament.

The Social Democrats predicted a sustained and stable period of peace, which did not motivate a strong defence in order to counter surprise attacks. A war in Europe would be preceded by worsened international relations and thus give time for necessary rearmament. The Social Democrats believed that Sweden only needed to maintain neutrality in order to deflect foreign aggression.

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