County Councils of Sweden
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A County Council, or Landsting, is an elected assembly of a County in Sweden. The County Council is a political entity, appointed by the county electorate and typically its main responsibilities lie within the public health care system. In each county there is also a County Administrative Board which is an administrative entity appointed by the Government. The Swedish name, Landsting, is the same as was used by the supreme tings of the historical Provinces of Sweden.
Constitutionally the County Councils exercise a degree of municipal self government provided for in the Constitution of Sweden. This does not constitute any degree of federalism, which is consistent with the view that Sweden should be regarded as a unity state. In Swedish terminology the County Council is considered to be a "Provincial Municipality" or Landstingskommun.
In each County there are also several smaller entities for the local government and administration that constitute municipal self government, which are independent of the County Councils. It is called a "Primary Municipality" or Primärkommun, and more plainly "Municipality" or Kommun. The island of Gotland is a special case in that it makes up one full county but at the same time only one municipality. As Gotland does not have a separate entity for a County Council, the Municipality of Gotland also handles the County Council tasks.
During a trial period the Government has decided to devolve some of the authority from the County Administrative Boards in three different Counties. This authority will instead be held by the evolved County Councils in Skåne, Västra Götaland and Gotland, now called Regional Councils.
See also
External links
- The Swedish Federation of County Councils (http://www.lf.se/lfenglish/default.htm)sv:Landsting