regeringschefen

Regeringschefen is the Swedish term for the head of government, commonly translated as prime minister. The title denotes the person who leads the government and chairs its meetings, while Sweden’s monarch serves as head of state with primarily ceremonial duties.

Constitutionally, the government is responsible to the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament. The regeringschef is appointed after elections by the Speaker of the Riksdag and must command the confidence of the majority of the Riksdag. The regeringschef forms a cabinet of ministers, to whom portfolios are assigned, and the cabinet as a whole is responsible for government policy and actions.

Key responsibilities include setting and coordinating government policy, proposing legislation, presenting the state budget, and representing Sweden in international affairs. The regering operates on the principle of collective responsibility, meaning that ministers share accountability for government decisions. If the Riksdag passes a vote of no confidence or withdraws support, the regeringschef typically resigns and a new government is formed.

Although the term is widely used to refer to the prime minister, the official title in Sweden is Statsminister. Regeringschef is largely a descriptive or parliamentary-language formulation referring to the same role. The concept is comparable to heads of government in other parliamentary democracies, where the leader of the government oversees policy, governance, and cabinet administration while remaining answerable to the legislature.