Speaker of the Riksdag Speaker of the Riksdag The speaker of the Riksdag () is the presiding officer of the national unicameral legislature in Sweden. The Riksdag underwent profound changes in 1867, when the medieval Riksdag of the Estates was abolished. The new form of the Riksdag included two elected chambers, each with its own speaker. Since the "de facto" introduction of parliamentarism in 1917, the Riksdag has properly functioned as the institution to which the Prime Minister and the Government are held accountable. In 1971 the institution was transformed into a unicameral legislature with 350 members, reduced to 349 in 1976 to avoid
President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, former Prime Minister of Poland and member of Solidarity Electoral Action, was elected as the first president from the central and eastern European countries which joined in the 2000s (more precisely, he is the first person from a country that joined the EU after 1986 to hold the post). The two major factions of the European Parliament, the EPP and the S&D, have reached a formal agreement to share the presidency under the 2009–2014 term. Under the agreement, Jerzy Buzek will be president in the first half of the term and a S&D member would be elected in