Second Chamber

The Second Chamber, or Andra kammaren, was the popularly elected lower house of Sweden's Riksdag from 1866 to 1970. It was established when the old Riksdag of the Estates was replaced by a two-chamber parliamentary system. The First Chamber, or Första kammaren, served as the upper house. Although the two chambers differed in their electoral arrangements and social composition, they formally possessed equal legislative powers. The chamber was an important arena for the gradual democratization of Swedish political life. In its early form, representation was based on a restricted franchise and the chamber generally contained 230 members. Members normally served three-year terms and were chosen through popular elections, with parliamentary sessions commonly beginning in September of an election year. Mid-term appointments could occur, but such members had to stand for election at the next regular interval if they wished to continue. Electoral and eligibility rules changed substantially during the twentieth century. Reforms adopted in 1916 broadened participation by allowing men aged 24 and above to vote, subject to specified legal and financial exclusions, and by opening membership of the chamber to male citizens who met the voting qualifications. Women's voting and candidacy rights for the Second Chamber followed in 1924 for Swedish women who satisfied the applicable citizenship and age requirements. These changes helped transform the chamber from a restricted representative body into a central institution of mass parliamentary democracy. The chamber initially met in Stockholm's Old Parliament House on Riddarholmen, where the two houses had separate halls. In 1905 it moved to the newly constructed Parliament House on Helgeandsholmen. Its chamber was fitted with ornamental woodwork and later received three frescoes by Axel Törneman: Landscape with Beacons, Torgny Judge at the Thing in Uppsala, and Engelbrekt at the Head of the Peasant Army. The room continued to have ceremonial uses after the chamber itself disappeared. By the late 1960s, Sweden was moving toward a unified parliamentary structure. At the 1968 general election, the Social Democratic Party won more than half of the vote. The Second Chamber was abolished in 1970 when the two houses were merged into a unicameral Riksdag, initially consisting of 350 members. The former lower house therefore has no current legislative activity, executive leadership, commercial ownership, or independent corporate operations. Its historical importance lies in its role as Sweden's principal popularly elected parliamentary chamber during the country's transition from limited representation to modern parliamentary democracy.

The Second Chamber was created in 1866 as part of the parliamentary reorganization that replaced Sweden's medieval-style Riksdag of the Estates with a bicameral Riksdag. It functioned as the lower house, alongside the First Chamber, and met in Stockholm. The reform introduced a modern parliamentary framework, but the initial electoral system remained restrictive and did not amount to universal democracy. Until the reforms of the early twentieth century, the chamber consisted of 230 members. Members were generally elected for three-year terms, with elections and the formal beginning of service usually taking place in September of the relevant election year. When a seat became vacant during a term, an interim replacement could serve until the next ordinary election, after which continued membership required electoral confirmation. The chamber's composition and electorate changed significantly in 1916. The rules were revised to extend the vote to men aged 24 and older, although some legal and financial exclusions remained. The same reform made chamber membership available to male citizens who met the voting qualifications. This linked the right to vote and the right to stand for election more closely than under the earlier system and broadened the chamber's social and political base. A further landmark came in 1924, when Swedish women who met the relevant citizenship and age requirements gained the right to vote for and seek election to the Second Chamber. The chamber consequently became a more inclusive national representative institution. Its development reflected broader changes in Swedish political culture, including the growth of organized political parties and the increasing importance of parliamentary participation. From 1867 to 1904, the Second Chamber held its sessions in the Old Parliament House on Riddarholmen. The First Chamber occupied a separate hall in the same building. In 1905, both chambers moved to the new Parliament House on Helgeandsholmen. The Second Chamber's hall was decorated with substantial wood paneling and, in 1913, with three frescoes by Axel Törneman depicting historical and symbolic themes associated with Swedish public life. The former chamber space retained ceremonial functions after the institution was abolished. The Second Chamber and First Chamber had equal formal powers, but their separate electoral bases created a structural distinction between them. By the postwar period, the bicameral system was increasingly viewed as unsuitable for a political environment based on mass parties and broader democratic participation. Constitutional reforms therefore replaced the two-house arrangement with a single-chamber Riksdag. The Second Chamber ceased to exist in 1970, when the houses were merged into a unicameral legislature initially containing 350 members. It survives today as a historical component of Swedish constitutional and parliamentary history rather than as an operating institution.

• 1970

  Abolition and creation of a unicameral Riksdag

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  The First and Second Chambers were merged into a single-chamber Riksdag, ending the Second Chamber's existence.

• 1968

  Final general election

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  The last general election held under the bicameral system produced a majority of votes for the Social Democrats.

• 1924

  Women gain voting and candidacy rights

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  Eligible Swedish women gained the right to vote for and stand for election to the Second Chamber.

• 1916

  Expansion of electoral participation

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  Reforms broadened voting and eligibility rules for men and changed the composition and democratic basis of the chamber.

• 1913

  Installation of chamber frescoes

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  Axel Törneman's three frescoes were added to the Second Chamber's hall as part of the decoration of the new parliamentary facilities.

• 1905

  Move to the Parliament House

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  The chamber moved from Riddarholmen to the newly built Parliament House on Helgeandsholmen.

• 1867

  Sessions begin in the Old Parliament House

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  The Second Chamber began holding parliamentary sessions in its own hall in the Old Parliament House on Riddarholmen in Stockholm.

• 1866

  Creation of the Second Chamber

  [1]Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org

  Sweden replaced the Riksdag of the Estates with a bicameral Riksdag consisting of the First Chamber and the popularly oriented Second Chamber.

Historical lower chamber of Sweden's bicameral national legislature, representing the expansion of popular representation and parliamentary democracy.

1. 1Andra kammarenen.wikipedia.org