Organisation - the Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture has a staff of about 100. The great majority are non-political officials who stay on in the Ministry in the event of a change of government or minister. The Ministry is headed by Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, the Minister for Culture.
In the Statement of Government Policy on 6 October 2006 the Prime Minister announced that the Ministry of Education, Reseach and Culture is going to be divided up. Two new ministries will emerge on 1 January 2007: The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research. Cultural and media issues are moved to the Ministry of Culture, along with sports issues.
Education and research remain in the Ministry of Education, Research and Culture, now named Ministry of Education and Research.
Youth issues are moved to the Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality.
Political Leadership
Working directly under their Ministers the State Secretaries lead work in the Ministry. The Ministry also has political advisers and press secretaries, who belong to the political staff of their Minister. The press secretaries are responsible for contacts with journalists. Unlike other officials in the Government Offices, ministers and political appointees leave their posts when there is a change of government.
Senior Officials
Alongside the State Secretaries, the Ministry has one senior official - Directors-General for Administrative and Legal Affairs - who are not politically recruited.
The responsibilities of Directors-General for Administrative and Legal Affairs include drafting legislative proposals for primary legislation and other regulations and ensuring that they are lawful, consistent and uniform. They also ensure that Government business is processed correctly.
Divisions and Secretariats
The divisions in the Ministry handle day-to-day work on the Ministry's various policy issues. The divisions process business prior to Government decisions. One of their most important tasks is to produce information in support of government bills in their sphere of responsibility. The divisions also handle contacts with the agencies sponsored by the Ministry.
The Ministry has two secretariats that support the Ministry Leadership and divisions in matters like administration, information and legal advice.
Read more about the divisions and secretariats under Divisions and Secretariats.
Committees and Inquiries
In dealing with important issues of current interest, the Government may choose to appoint either a committee of inquiry or a single person, known as an inquiry chair, to conduct an inquiry into the issue. When the work has been completed, the results are published in one or more reports in the Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU) series. Work on government bills some times builds on these reports.
Read more about committees and inquiries under Committees.
Agencies and other bodies
Each Ministry is responsible for a number of government agencies, foundations, associations and companies. These agencies handle the day-to-day work of the government administration,
The Government decides the objectives, guidelines and distribution of resources for their operations through appropriations and appropriation directives. However, the Government does not control their application of laws or their decisions on specific matters.
