History

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 * History**: The earlist hsitorical mention of Sweden was found in Tacitus's Germania. Around the year 1400 an attempt was made to unite Sweden, Norway, and Demark into one kingdom. In 1520, the Danish king Christian ll conquered Sweden and in the "Stockholm Bloodbath" put leading Swedish personages to death.


 * Government**: Constitutional Monarchy. Three different levels of governments; National Level, the Counties and the Municipalities.
 * Monarchy**: King Carl XVI Gustaf got crownd to be King of Sweden and became the 74th King to rule the country. The King is the HEAD of STATE and his functions and duties are defined in the 1974 Constitution Act.


 * County**: Each county has their own County Council. The County Government is called //Landshovding// in Swedish and is appointed by the central government. The //County Council Assembly// has three standing committees which each of them are responsible for supervising the Council's undertaking and serving as liks between the County Council Assemble and the county's residents. Some major responsibilities for the County Council are //Health and Medical care, Dental care, Education and Culture//.


 * Municipalities**: In each county there is a number of municipalities and they each have their own Municipal Council. This council is a democratic institution with elected representatives. The supreme decision-making body is called //Kommunstyrelsen.// There are 286 municipalities. The Municipal Councils control the local government and taxation. Schools, fire protection, water and sewer systems, local roads are all apart and examples of the government and taxation. With national government, police protection, highways and major roads, power plants are all part of this.


 * Economy**: Sweden is a major producer in automobiles such as the Volvo and the Saab. Sweden mainly depends on nuclear and hydroelectric power for 90% of the countries energy needs. Salaries are high and the cost of living is also high. Income tax funds the country's extensive welfare system. Private services alternatives and spending cuts have encouraged greater productivity and it also helped reduced the overall cost. Some important natural resources include silver, zinc, lead, iron and copper. Timber is also important.