The City of Stockholm -
from the middle ages to the present

Stockholm has functioned as an urban centre with a civic organization and local government, whose purpose has been to care for the welfare of its inhabitants, from as long ago as the middle ages. Stockholm was first granted a town charter in about 1250. At that time, Stockholm was governed by an advisory council and a Sheriff, who was appointed by the King. Since then, local government has developed into the administrative organization of today which with 55,000 employees provides services to more than 700,000 inhabitants and a great number of businesses. The advisory council, which was later to be called the "Magistraten" represented the townsmen of Stockholm, and was not only responsible for the administration of Stockholm's affairs but also for the administration of justice through the town court. The ' Magistraten" was responsible for such activities as representing Stockholm in negotiations with the State and the authorities of other towns, controlling commerce and industry, town planning and cleaning as well as maintaining law and order.

The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
During the seventeenth century, the Office of the Governor of Stockholm was established and the Governor, who was appointed by the King, became the Chairman of the "Magistraten". In order to manage the growing number of activities, the "Magistraten" was divided up into a number of corporate bodies, each of which was headed by a Mayor. During the seventeenth century, care of the poor was added to the list of activities undertaken by these bodies.

The nineteenth century
The City's boards and administrations, and the activities they undertake, have successively continued to develop over the centuries. The most important milestone in the City's development, as well as that of other municipalities, was the passing of the local government statutes in 1862. These statutes contained a special ordinance in respect of Stockholm, by virtue of which the City Council became the City's supreme decision-making body. The role of the "Magistraten" changed from that of a decision-making body to an administrative organization. The City of Stockholm became a separate municipality with the right to determine its own affairs. In 1863 municipalities were given the authority to undertake activities which were beneficial to the common needs of their inhabitants. In principle, all inhabitants were considered to be equal. However, an inhabitant's right to vote was determined by the size of his income. It was not until 1918 that people of both sexes, over the age of 23, were eventually granted the right to vote in municipal elections.

The twentieth century
In 1920, the Executive Officers of the City's Municipal Administration were transferred to the City's Central Board of Administration. The result was that those aldermen, who were specially elected and remunerated for their services, were responsible for submitting reports in respect of the various administrations. Like other municipalities, Stockholm has gone through a period of rapid expansion during the past century. The City has been forced to meet the demands, and solve the problems inherent to urbanisation. During the first half of this century, this mostly concerned matters relating to hygiene and social welfare. Improvements to the City's infrastructure, in respect of its roads and streets, street lighting, gas mains and electricity utilities, also became matters of importance for the municipality. The current municipal organization is regulated by the Local Government Act of 1991, which stipulates the rights and authority of municipalities. The Act contains a number of special provisions for Stockholm, e.g., the number of members of the Stockholm City Council (minimum 101). Many municipal undertakings are specially regulated and are mandatory. Services in respect of schools, social welfare, town planning, the issuing of building permits and health and environmental protection belong to this category. The City's voluntary activities include its cultural and recreational undertakings. Due to the expansion of the municipal sector during this century, the utilisation of municipal resources has begun to weigh heavily on the national economy. The country's problems, in respect of efficiency and productivity, have become more dependent on the solutions chosen by the municipalities.

Confronting the year 2000 and beyond
The City of Stockholm's organization is currently undergoing a series of changes. The City's elected representatives are working to maintain standards of quality - within the shrinking parameters of the City's economy which the inhabitants of Stockholm expect and to which they are entitled. A part of this work has been the City's major district council reform. On January 1, 1997, the City's 24 district councils took over the responsibility for a major part of the right to make decisions on issues that concern their own districts.