Riksdag Swedish king Gustav I Vasa to include representatives from all the four social estates: the nobility, the clergy, the burghers (property-owning commoners in the towns such as merchants etc.), and the yeomanry (freehold farmers). This form of "Ständestaat" representation lasted until 1865, when representation by estate was abolished and the modern bicameral parliament established. Effectively, however, it did not become a parliament in the modern sense until parliamentary principles were established in the political system in Sweden, in 1917. On 22 June 1866, the Riksdag decided to reconstitute itself as a bicameral legislature, consisting of "Första kammaren" or the First
Riksdag Estonian Riigikogu, as well as the historical German "Reichstag" and the Danish "Rigsdagen". In Swedish use, "riksdagen" is usually uncapitalized. "Riksdag" derives from the genitive of "rike", referring to royal power, and "dag", meaning diet or conference; the German word "Reichstag" and the Danish "Rigsdag" are cognate. The "Oxford English Dictionary" traces English use of the term "Riksdag" in reference to the Swedish assembly back to 1855. The roots of the modern Riksdag can be found in a 1435 meeting of the Swedish nobility in the city of Arboga. This informal organization was modified in 1527 by the first modern