Björn von Sydow
Encyclopedia
Speaker of the Riksdag
The Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden is the speaker of the national parliament in Sweden. The Riksdag underwent changes in 1867, when the old Riksdag of the Estates institution was abolished. The new form of the Riksdag included two chambers, each with its own Speaker...
(talman) of the Riksdag
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
, the Swedish parliament. He held this office following the 2002 election, when he succeeded Birgitta Dahl
Birgitta Dahl
Rut Birgitta Dahl is a Swedish former politician of the Social Democratic Party.- Education and career :Birgitta Dahl was born in Råda, Härryda Municipality, Västra Götaland County. She earned a B.A. at Uppsala University in 1960. During her studies she was politically active in the Uppsala...
, until he was replaced on 2 October 2006. A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
, he had been Minister of Defence in Göran Persson
Göran Persson
Hans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...
's government
Government of Sweden
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden is the supreme executive authority of Sweden. It consists of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers appointed by the Prime Minister. The Government is responsible for their actions to the Riksdag, which is the legislative assembly...
between 1997 and 2002, preceded by a short term as Minister of Trade.
Apart from leading the Riksdag sessions, von Sydow was also while in office eligible to serve as acting-regent (Riksföreståndare) in the absence of the King and his three children, e.g. if they all went abroad simultaneously, although that never happened.
The speaker also had a key role when the government resigned. However, when Göran Persson asked for his resignation after the lost 2006 election
Swedish general election, 2006
A general election was held in Sweden on 17 September 2006, to elect members to the Swedish parliament. All 349 seats were up for election: 310 "fixed seats" in 29 constituencies and 39 members at a national level for what are called "adjustment seats", used to ensure that parties have...
, the parliamentary situation was very clear, so already on 19 September 2006 Sydow could formally ask Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
to begin the formation of a new government to take office after the new Riksdag has assembled to approve it. On 2 October 2006, the changed majority situation in the Riksdag also had Sydow replaced by Moderate Party
Moderate Party
The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...
politician and previous Vice Speaker Per Westerberg
Per Westerberg
Per Erik Gunnar Westerberg is a Swedish Moderate Party politician and as of 2006 the current Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag, of which he is a member since 1979, and thus also its most senior member ....
. Already before the election, Sydow had stated that he was not interested in a Vice Speaker position, so that office went to fellow Social Democrat Jan Björkman
Jan Björkman
Jan Björkman, born 1950, is a Swedish social democratic politician, member of the Riksdag since 1988. Since 2006, he is First Vice Speaker of the Riksdag.- External links :**...
.
von Sydow was awarded a Ph.D. in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Linköping University
Linköping University
Linköping University is a state university in Linköping, Sweden. Linköping University was granted full university status in 1975 and is now one of Sweden's larger academic institutions. Education, research and PhD training are the mission of four faculties: Arts and Sciences, Educational...
in 1978, and later worked as rector of the Social Work College at Stockholm University
Stockholm University
Stockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
. In 2008, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
.
Björn von Sydow has taken his mother's surname and is a distant relative of the actor Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
. He lives in Solna
Solna Municipality
Solna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, located just north of the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the 'city' of Solna....
outside Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, is married and has four children.