Government > Leaders Stats: compare key data on Norway & Sweden

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STAT	Norway	Sweden	HISTORY
King	Harald V	Carl XVI Gustaf
King > Profile	<p>Crown Prince Harald became king on the death of his father Olav V in 1991. Born in 1937, he fled with his mother and siblings to the United States after the German invasion of Norway in 1940, while his father and grandfather, the then King Haakon VII, joined the government in exile in London.</p> <p>The royal family returned to Norway at the end of the war, and Prince Harald went on to study at the University of Oslo, the Norwegian Military Academy and Oxford University. </p> <p>Like his father and grandfather, King Harald is a keen sportsman, and represented Norway with distinction as a yachtsman at various international events, including the Tokyo, Mexico and Munich Olympics.</p> <p>He caused some controversy by insisting on marrying a commoner, contrary to the tradition of marrying a royal princess. He and Queen Sonja have two children, Princess Martha Louise and Crown Prine Haakon.</p> <p>The king has clearly defined constitutional duties. Apart from being head of the armed forces and Church of Norway, he chairs the Council of State once a week. He appoints the government according to which party commands the largest number of seats in parliament, or else on the advice of the head of parliament and the prime minister of the day. </p> <p>King Harald has cotinued the royal family&#039;s tradition of of unpretentious public duty, and serves as a symbol of the country&#039;s strong sense of national identity.</p>	<p>King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the throne in 1973, on the death of his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf. The current king&#039;s father died in a plane crash in 1947, when Carl Gustav was only nine months old.</p> <p>During his long royal apprenticeship, Carl Gustav underwent the usual military training, but also studied history, politics and economics at Swedish universities, served in the diplomatic corps, and worked in banking and commerce.</p> <p>Constitutional changes in 1974 deprived the king of all but ceremonial duties, such as opening parliament and representing Sweden at the diplomatic level.</p> <p>King Carl XVI Gustaf is best known abroad for presenting the annual Nobel Prizes. </p> <p>He married in 1976, and he and Queen Silvia have three children, the eldest of whom - Princess Victoria - is heir to the throne. </p>
King > Summary	The royal family is a symbol of Norway&#039;s strong sense of national identity	King Carl XVI Gustaf ascended the throne in 1973
Prime minister	Erna Solberg	Fredrik Reinfeldt
Prime minister > Profile	<p>Erna Solberg heads a right-wing minority coalition government assembled following elections in September 2013. </p> <p>Her government rules in a minority after failing to win over several small centrist parties. But minority governments are common in Nordic countries and her Conservative Party has enlisted the formal outside backing of the Liberals and the Christian Democrats to ensure stability. </p> <p>Ms Solberg, Norway&#039;s second female prime minister, appointed women to half of the cabinet posts, in line with an unwritten rule about gender equality.</p> <p>Nicknamed &quot;Iron Erna&quot; for her tough stance as local government minister in charge of asylum and regional development in 2001-2005, Ms Solberg took over leadership of the Conservative Party in 2004 and steered it to third place in the 2009 elections.</p> <p>Her government has promised to lower taxes, reduce the economy&#039;s reliance on the vast oil sector, invest heavily in infrastructure and curtail immigration.</p> <p>One of her coalition partners is the populist Progress Party, which entered the government for the first time after having been in opposition ever since its formation 40 years previously. </p> <p>The Progress Party is in favour of tighter immigration controls and sweeping tax cuts.</p>	<p>The Alliance for Sweden, a centre-right coalition headed by Moderate Party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt, came to power at elections in September 2006, ending 10 years of rule by the Social Democrat Party.</p> <p>Governing with a slim seven-seat majority in its first term, Mr Reinfeldt&#039;s government cut income taxes, trimmed benefits and sold off state assets.</p> <p>Buoyed by Sweden&#039;s rapid economic recovery from the 2008 , Mr Reinfeldt looked assured to win a second term ahead of elections in 2010 and become the first centre-right PM to be re-elected since World War II.</p> <p>However, his Alliance for Sweden fell short of an overall majority by two seats, and Mr Reinfeldt formed a minority coalition government. The anti-immigration Swedish Democrats became Sweden&#039;s first far right party to win seats in parliament.</p> <p>The opposition centre-left Social Democrats, who governed Sweden for much of the period since World War II, suffered a painful slump in support.</p> <p>After becoming party leader of the right-wing Moderate Party in 2003, Mr Reinfeldt moved it towards the political centre, toning down its criticism of Sweden&#039;s welfare state and adopting a consensual approach. He supports Sweden&#039;s entry into Nato, provided there is cross-party support.</p> <p>Born in 1965, Fredrik Reinfeldt joined his party&#039;s youth wing in 1991. </p>
Prime minister > Summary	Erna Solberg heads a right-wing coalition	Fredrik Reinfeldt is in his second term of office

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