Prime Minister of Sweden

Prime Minister of Sweden Sveriges statsminister
Lesser coat of arms of Sweden
State flag
Incumbent Stefan Löfven since 3 October 2014
Style	Excellency was used up to the 1970s in Sweden; but is still used in diplomatic writing
Member of	The Government European Council
Reports to	The Riksdag
Residence	Sager House
Seat	Rosenbad, , Sweden
Nominator	The Speaker of the Riksdag following consultations with the party leaders in the Riksdag
Appointer	The Speaker of the Riksdag following a vote in the Riksdag
Term length	No term limit serves as long as the incumbent has majority support in the Riksdag
Constituting instrument	1974 Instrument of Government
Inaugural holder	Louis Gerhard De Geer
Formation	20 March 1876
Deputy	Deputy to the Prime Minister
Salary	annual: 1,920,000 SEK €207,478 / $229,968 / £147,239 (1 July 2015 – 30 June 2016)
Website	www.sweden.gov.se

The Prime Minister (Swedish: statsminister, literally "Minister of the State") is the head of government in Sweden. Before the creation of the office of a Prime Minister in 1876, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the King, in whom the executive authority was vested. Louis Gerhard De Geer, the architect behind the new bicameral Riksdag of 1866 that replaced the centuries-old Riksdag of the Estates, became the first officeholder in 1876.

The current Prime Minister of Sweden is Stefan Löfven, leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.

Before 1876, when the office of a single prime minister was created, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from the King. Historically though, the most senior member of the Privy Council (during the absolute rule this was the Lord High Chancellor) had certain similarities to the office of a head of government. This was most evident during the so-called Age of Liberty from 1718 to 1772, when powers of the Monarch were greatly reduced and the President of the Privy Council became the most powerful political figure in Sweden.

At the adoption of the new Instrument of Government of 1809, the two offices of Prime Minister for Justice (Swedish: Justitiestatsminister) and Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs (Swedish: Utrikesstatsminister) were created, though their roles were no more than just the heads of their respective ministries. When the office of the Prime Minister was created in 1876, the Prime Ministers for Justice and Foreign Affairs were thus subsequently demoted to Minister for Justice and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Unlike the Minister for Justice, the Minister for Foreign Affairs did however continue to be styled as "Excellency", an honour shared only with the Prime Minister. From 1917, parliamentarian principles were definitively established in Sweden and the Monarch ceased to exercise his constitutional authority to appoint the Prime Minister and the Councillors of State (cabinet ministers) at his own discretion. From that time onward, the Prime Minister depended on the support of a majority in the Riksdag. Over time, the Prime Minister came to de facto exercise the Royal prerogatives. However, the Swedish term used for the Government during this period, still was Kungl. Maj:t, an abbreviation of Kunglig Majestät (English: Royal Majesty).