första kammaren

{{Short description|Former upper house of the Swedish Riksdag (1866–1970)}}

{{Infobox legislature

| name = First Chamber

| native_name = {{Lang|sv|Första kammaren|italic=no}}

| coa_pic = Coat of arms of Sweden (shield and chain).svg

| coa_res = 120px

| coa_caption = Coat of arms of Sweden

| session_room = Första kammaren 1900.jpg

| session_res = 230px

| house_type = Upper house

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| legislature =

| established = 22 June 1866

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| disbanded = 20 September 1970

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| meeting_place = Old Parliament House, Stockholm

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}}

The {{Lang|sv|Första kammaren|italic=no}} (literally "First Chamber", often abbreviated 'FK'; referred to in some non-Swedish sources as the Senate[https://data.ipu.org/election-summary/PDF/SWEDEN_1968_E.PDF]) was the upper house of the bicameral Riksdag of Sweden between 1866 and 1970 that replaced the Riksdag of the Estates.[https://books.google.com/books?id=mayVK6aHydYC&dq=sweden+riksdag+bicameral&pg=PA13 The Founder: André Oscar Wallenberg (1816-1886), Swedish Banker, Politician & Journalist], Göran B. Nilsson, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2005, page 13 During the bicameral period, the lower house of the Riksdag was the Andra kammaren (literally "the Second Chamber"). Both chambers had generally similar and parallel powers.

At the time of its abolition, the First Chamber had 151 members.[https://books.google.com/books?id=_UwsAAAAMAAJ&q=%20First+Chamber+with+151+members%20 Information Please Almanac, Atlas and Yearbook], Volume 24, Dan Golenpaul, McGraw-Hill, 1970, page 358 These were indirectly elected for eight-year terms of office, from amongst the county councils (landsting) and city councils (stadsfullmäktige), which formed electoral colleges, some of which holding elections every year, with local elections being held every four years in even years when elections to the Second Chamber were not due to be held.[https://books.google.com/books?id=aKD9-A9GngEC&dq=sweden+riksdag+bicameral+first+chamber+eight+year&pg=PA111 Understanding the Swedish Model], Frank Cass, 1991, page 111

During a large portion of the long tenure of power for the Social Democrats (between 1932 and 1976), the party remained in control of legislation thanks to its strong position in the First Chamber.[https://books.google.com/books?id=PFqU55tsZ-QC&dq=sweden+riksdag+bicameral+first+chamber+joint+committee&pg=PA201 Coalition Governments in Western Europe], Wolfgang C. Müller, Kaare Strom, Oxford University Press, 2003, page 201 If the two chambers made contradictory decisions in budgetary matters, they were required to meet in joint assembly to make a "coherent" decision on the issue. In other matters, no legislative outcomes could be established if the two houses were in disagreement, but issues could re-addressed by submitting a new proposal. Co-ordination between the two chambers was facilitated by the Riksdag having standing joint committees composed of members from both chambers.[https://books.google.com/books?id=OYsPAQAAIAAJ&q=%20joint+committees+of+the+two+chambers%20 Swatantra], Volume 9, Issues 1-26, page 12 This is rare for two-chamber systems, which generally only employ temporary joint mediation committees to resolve a dispute between the chambers, or reserve standing joint committees for very narrow functions.[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1951472?seq=1 The Parliamentary Role of Joint Standing Committees in Sweden], Neil C. M. Elder, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Jun., 1951), pp. 464