Government Agencies in Sweden
The Government Agencies in Sweden are state controlled organizations who act independently to carry out the policies of the Swedish Government. The Government Ministries are relatively small and merely policy-making organizations, allowed to control agencies by policy decisions but not by direct orders. A Minister is explicitly prohibited from interfering with the day-to-day operation in an agency or the outcome in individual cases. The cabinet government and its ministers has no authority over the agencies that are directly under the Riksdag.
Agencies reporting directly to the Riksdag
- Sveriges Riksbank - The central bank.
- Swedish National Audit Office, or Riksrevisionen - The supreme audit institution.
- Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsmen, or Justitieombudsmannen - The ombudsman of the Riksdag.
Government Agencies reporting to the Ministry of Justice
- Chancellor of Justice, or Justitiekanslern (JK). () Field of operations: Supervises those who are involved with public operations, it is responsible to the Government for protecting the rights of the State and it provides the Government with advice and surveys in legal matters.
- Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority, or Brottsoffermyndigheten (BrOM). Located in Umeå. () Field of operations: examines crime victim compensation issues and allocates funds from the Fund for Victims of Crime.
- Swedish Election Authority, or Valmyndigheten. Located in Solna. ()
- Swedish National Courts Administration, or Domstolsverket (DV). Located in Jönköping. () Field of operations: The National Courts Administration is the central administrative agency for the public courts, the legal courts, the regional tenancy tribunals, the regional rent tribunals and the National Legal Aid Authority.
- Swedish Legal Aid Authority, or Rättshjälpsmyndigheten Located in Sundsvall. Field of operations: administrates issues concerning legal aid in accordance with the Legal Aid Act.
- Swedish National Police Board, or Rikspolisstyrelsen, (RPS). () Field of operations: The National Police Board is the central administrative agency for the police authorities, it is also the principal agency for the National Laboratory of Forensic Science. The Swedish Security Service and the National Criminal Investigation Department ? a division which manages the running of police operations are just two parts of the National Police Board.
- Swedish National Prison and Probation Administration, or Kriminalvårdsstyrelsen (KVS). Located in Norrköping. () Field of operations: The National Prison and Probation Administration is the central administrative agency for the Swedish Prison and Probation service.
- Swedish National Gene Technology Advisory Board, or Gentekniknämnden. Located in Solna. () Field of operations: The Swedish Gene Technology Advisory Board shall promote an ethically justified and safe usage of gene technology through its advisory operations.
- Swedish National Integration Board, or Integrationsverket. Located in Norrköping. () Field of operations: The Swedish Integration Board to ensure that the visions and goals of Sweden?s integration policies have an impact in the various areas of society.
Government Agencies reporting to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
The Legations and Embassies in foreign countries, are under the direct authority and control of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
- Folke Bernadotte Academy, or Folke Bernadotteakademin. Located on Sandö in Kramfors. ()
- Swedish National Migration Board, or Migrationsverket. Located in Norrköping. ()
- Nordic Africa Institute, or Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Located in Uppsala (Uppsala University). ()
- Swedac (SWEDAC), formally Styrelsen för ackreditering och teknisk kontroll. Located in Borås. ()
- Swedish Armed Forces, or Försvarsmakten (FM). () The fundamental task of the Swedish Armed Forces is to prepare in peacetime to defend the country in war against armed attack that threatens its liberty and independence. It must be possible to counter attack from any quarter and to defend the whole country.
- Swedish National Service Administration, or Pliktverket. Located in Karlstad. () The National Service Administration is responsible for enrolment, enlisting and administering those eligible for national service and supporting training organizers during national service. Each year this involves enrolment of around 50,000 young men and testing a smaller number of women for enlistment.
- Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment, or Försvarets radioanstalt (FRA). Located in Bromma.
- Swedish Coast Guard, or Kustbevakningen (KBV). Located in Karlskrona. () The Swedish Coast Guard performs surveillance and other monitoring and control operations, as well as environmental emergency services at sea. Its tasks are wide-ranging. They include several policy areas for which different authorities are responsible.
- Swedish Rescue Services Agency, or Räddningsverket (SRV). Located in Karlstad. () The Swedish Rescue Services Agency promotes practice that improves accident prevention and response, and in the event of an accident limits injury and damage. This is achieved by imparting information, by running training courses and exercises, and through supervision etc.
- Swedish Social Insurance Offices, or Försäkringskassan. Local administration of social insurance.
- Apoteket. () Exclusive right to conduct retail sales of pharmaceuticals.
- Systembolaget (the Swedish Alcohol Retailing Monopoly). () Exclusive right to conduct retail sales of alcoholic beverages.
Government Agencies reporting to Departments and Divisions of the Ministry of Finance
Economic Affairs Department of the Ministry of Finance
Others
- Statistics Sweden or Statistiska Centralbyrån (SCB). ()
- Swedish National Agency for Higher Education, or Högskoleverket (HSV). () Field of operation: the Agency is in charge of inspecting and promoting higher education sector activities, through follow-up and evalutation of higher education, quality assessment, initiatives for updating teaching methods and assessment of right to award degrees.
- The Universities in Sweden. () Field of operation: main duty is to organise higher education based on a scientific or artistic orientation and on proven experience and research, artistic and other development work.
- Swedish National Board of Student Aid, or Centrala studiestödsnämnden (CSN). () Field of operation: Administration of all matters regarding study support
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics, or Institutet för rymdfysik. () Field of operation: a governmental research institute. The primary task is to carry out basic research, education, and associated observatory activities in space physics.
- The Royal Library, or Kungliga biblioteket (KB). () Field of operation: As the National Library, the Royal Library collects, describes, preserves and makes available all Swedish printed materials, and publications with Swedish associations published in other countries. The Royal Library is a central library authority with responsibility for coordinating Sweden's research libraries and for the Library Information System, LIBRIS.
- Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien (KVA). () Field of operation: an independent, non-governmental organization whose major aims are to promote research in mathematics and the natural sciences.
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sveriges Lantbruksuniveristet. () Field of operations: universities, research.
- Hanaholmen Cultural Centre for Sweden and Finland, or Hanaholmens kulturcentrum för Sverige och Finland.
- Foundation for Swedish-Norwegian Cooperation, or Svensk-norska samarbetsfonden
Archives
- Swedish National Archives and the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, or Akademien för de fria konsterna.
- Visual Art Collecting Society, or Bildkonst Upphovsrätt i Sverige (BUS).
- Swedish National Handicraft Council, or Nämnden för hemslöjdsfrågor.
- Swedish Council on Media Violence, or Rådet mot skadliga våldsskildringar (Våldsskildringsrådet).
- Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, or Sveriges Radio AB. ()
- Sveriges Television. ()
- Teracom. ()
Museums and Exhibitions
Theatre, Dance och Music
Government Agencies reporting to the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications
