Sámi Parliament of Sweden

{{Short description|Elected political body for the Sami people in Sweden}}

{{Infobox legislature

| background_color = #EB4B2D

| name = Sámi Parliament in Sweden

| native_name = {{nativename|se|Sámediggi}}
{{nativename|sv|Sametinget}}

| legislature =

| coa_pic = Sametinget Sverige logo.svg

| house_type = Unicameral

| foundation = {{Start date|df=yes|1993|1|1}}

| preceded_by = Swedish Sámi Council

| leader1_type = Speaker

| leader1 = Daniel Holst

| party1 = Hunting and Fishing Sámi

| election1 = 2021

| members = 31{{cite web |title=Val till Sametinget 2021 - Valda |url=https://data.val.se/val/same2021/valda.html |website=val.se |publisher= |accessdate=16 June 2021}}

| structure1 = Sweden (Sàmi) Sámediggi 2021.svg

| structure1_res = 260px

| structure1_alt = Current Structure of the Sámi Parliament of Sweden

| political_groups1 =

{{Color box|#2C50A2|border=darkgray}} Hunting and Fishing Sámi (12)
{{Color box|#93CA90|border=darkgray}} Sámi Land Party (6)
{{Color box|#663399|border=darkgray}} The Morning Star (5)
{{Color box|#37721C|border=darkgray}} Forest Sámi (3)
{{nowrap|{{Color box|#FF4444|border=darkgray}} Swedish Sámi National Party (2)}}
{{Color box|#17DBB8|border=darkgray}} The Sámi (2)
{{Color box|#80180B|border=darkgray}} Our Way (1)

| voting_system1 =

| last_election1 = 2021

| next_election1 = 2025

| session_room = Sametinget - Sami Parliament of Sweden.JPG

| meeting_place = Sámi Parliament of Sweden Building
Kiruna, Sweden

| website = {{URL|http://www.sametinget.se}}

| footnotes =

}}

The Sámi Parliament of Sweden ({{langx|sv|Sametinget}}, {{langx|se|Sámediggi}}, {{langx|smj|Sámedigge}}, {{langx|sma|Saemiedigkie}}) is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in Sweden based in Kiruna. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sámi people.

History

The Sami Parliament Act, [http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/19921433.HTM Sametingslag (1992:1433)], established the Swedish Sami Parliament as of 1 January 1993. By law, the first official elections were held on 16 May 1993. Its first session was opened by the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, on 26 August 1993 in Kiruna. It has 31 representatives, who are elected every four years by general vote. The current chairperson of the Sámi Parliament is Paulus Kuoljak, since 2017. The chairperson is formally assigned by the Swedish Government upon the proposal of the Sami Parliament.

The 2021 election was held on 16 May 2021, with 9,220 people registered as voters, mostly living in Norrbotten or Västerbotten.{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2021/05/falqs-the-swedish-sami-parliament-elections/|title=FALQs: The Swedish Sami Parliament Elections | in Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress|date=14 May 2021}}{{Cite news|url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/sweden-gets-ready-for-sami-parliament-elections|title = Sweden gets ready for Sami Parliament elections|newspaper = Sveriges Radio|date = 14 May 2021|last1 = Ulriksen|first1 = Trygve}}{{Cite web |title=Nu går samerna till val – många röstade i Kiruna: "Man måste utöva den lilla makt man har" |url=https://nsd.se/nyheter/artikel/nu-gar-samerna-till-val-manga-rostade-i-kiruna-man-maste-utova-den-lilla-makt-man-har-/rmxvdd6j |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=nsd.se |language=sv}}

Responsibilities

Sweden has taken this active part for two reasons:

to recognise the Sámi minority as an indigenous people to distinguish it from other minorities;
to raise the Sámi minority influence which comes into conflict with the European majority democracy system, i.e., the group with the most votes wins.

Elections and voting system

Sámi Parliament is democratically elected and acts as an autonomous authority. Sámi inhabitants have a vote, in addition to the regular elections in Sweden, to elect representatives to the Sámi Parliament if:{{cn|date=July 2019}}

they identify as culturally or ethnically Sámi, and either
they speak a Sámi language, or
they have had or have a parent, or grandparent, that speaks or spoke a Sámi language