Sámi Parliament of Sweden

The Sámi Parliament of Sweden (Swedish: Sametinget, Northern Sami: Sámediggi, Lule Sami: Sámedigge, Southern Sami: 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.

Sámi Parliament in Sweden

Sámediggi (Northern Sami)
Sametinget (Swedish)
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 January 1993 (1993-01-01)
Preceded bySwedish Sámi Council
Leadership
Speaker
Daniel Holst, Hunting and Fishing Sámi
since 2021
Structure
Seats31[1]
Current Structure of the Sámi Parliament of Sweden
Political groups
  •   Hunting and Fishing Sámi (12)
  •   Sámi Land Party (6)
  •   The Morning Star (5)
  •   Forest Sámi (3)
  •   Swedish Sámi National Party (2)
  •   The Sámi (2)
  •   Our Way (1)
Elections
Last election
2021
Next election
2025
Meeting place
Sámi Parliament of Sweden Building
Kiruna, Sweden
Website
www.sametinget.se

History

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The Sami Parliament Act, 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 Sámediggi Election was held on 16 May 2021, with 9,220 people registered as voters, mostly living in Norrbotten or Västerbotten.[2][3][4]

Responsibilities

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Sweden has taken this active part for two reasons:

Voting system

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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:[citation needed]

  • 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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Val till Sametinget 2021 - Valda". val.se. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  2. ^ "FALQs: The Swedish Sami Parliament Elections | in Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress". 14 May 2021.
  3. ^ Ulriksen, Trygve (14 May 2021). "Sweden gets ready for Sami Parliament elections". Sveriges Radio.
  4. ^ "Nu går samerna till val – många röstade i Kiruna: "Man måste utöva den lilla makt man har"". nsd.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-11-15.
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