Stockholm County

Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland (Roslagen) and Södermanland (Södertörn). More than one fifth of the Swedish population lives in the county. Stockholm County is also one of the statistical riksområden (national areas) according to NUTS:SE, Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics within the EU. With more than two million inhabitants, Stockholm is the most densely populated county of Sweden.

History

Stockholm County was established in 1714. The City of Stockholm then constituted its own administrative entity under the Over-Governor of Stockholm and was not part of Stockholm County. Though outside Stockholm County, the City of Stockholm was its seat.

On 1 January 1968, Stockholm County was united with the City of Stockholm. At the same time, the borders were redrawn in other directions too; Upplands-Bro Municipality was transferred from Uppsala County and a large part of the modern day Östhammar Municipality was transferred to Uppsala County.

Heraldry

Arms granted in 1968. The arms for the County of Stockholm is a combination of the arms of Uppland, Södermanland and the City of Stockholm. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board.

Localities by population (2010)

The largest built-up places (tätorter) in the county are shown below. These refer to contiguous settlements and may straddle municipal (and occasionally county) boundaries.

Pos Locality Population 1 Stockholm 1,372,565 2 Södertälje 64,619 3 Täby 61,272 4 Tumba 37,852 5 Upplands-Väsby 37,594 6 Vallentuna 29,519 7 Åkersberga 28,033 8 Märsta 24,068 9 Boo 24,052 10 Norrtälje 17,275 11 Västerhaninge 15,134 12 Nynäshamn 13,510 13 Gustavsberg 11,333 14 Ekerö 10,907 15 Jordbro 10,291 16 Älta 9,989

County Administrative Board

Prior to 1968 the County of Stockholm did not include the City of Stockholm. The City was instead under the Over-Governor's Office, and the County included the surrounding countryside. The County had its separate Governor of Stockholm County.

The main aim of the County Administrative Board is to fulfil the goals set in national politics by the Riksdag and the Government, to coordinate the interests of the county, to promote the development of the county, to establish regional goals and safeguard the due process of law in the handling of each case. The County Administrative Board is a Government Agency headed by a Governor.

See List of Stockholm Governors.

County officials Governor Chris Heister 1 February 2012 Deputy Governor Bo Hansson 1 January 2002 Commissioner of Finance Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd 12 February 2008 Region police chief Ulf Johansson 20 February 2015 President of the County Council Inger Linge 7 November 2006

County council

The local administration of the county is under Stockholm County Council (Stockholms läns landsting). Its main responsibilities are for the public healthcare system and public transport.

The county council has 149 members elected by proportional representation through elections held in conjunction with the general elections every four years. The county council itself elects the county's executive committee.

The president of the committee also holds the title Commissioner of Finance. The current commissioner is Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, of the Moderate Party. The members of the executive committee (landstingsstyrelsen) represent both the political majority and the opposition, with responsibility for implementing policies approved by the county council.

Elections

Stockholm County contains two multi-seat constituencies for county council elections. Stockholm Municipality makes up the first constituency while the second makes up the rest of the county.

Council elections 2002-2014 Year Moderate Party Christian Democrats Centre Party Liberal People's Party Green Party Social Democratic Party Left Party Sweden Democrats others Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats 2002 259 597 23,8 37 75 928 6,9 11 24 161 2,2 0 180 043 16,5 26 50 469 4,6 7 374 690 34,3 54 100 306 9,2 14 8 508 0,6 0 16 464 1,7 0 2006 407 322 35,7 55 68 025 6,0 6 45 082 4,0 6 116 564 10,2 16 74 837 6,6 10 312 486 27,4 43 75 231 6,6 10 18 592 1,6 0 22 964 2,0 0 2010 460 871 36,7 57 59 273 4,7 7 47 956 3,8 6 116 858 9,3 15 121 660 9,7 15 321 268 25,6 39 77 578 6,2 10 35 496 2,8 0 13 884 1,1 0 2014 381 667 28,6 43 75 529 5,6 9 58 906 4,4 7 111 676 8,2 13 135 992 10,0 15 358 324 26,4 41 104 479 7,7 12 79 452 5,9 9 49 587 2,7 0

Hospitals

The county council operates most of the hospitals in the county, some of the major facilities are:

• Karolinska University Hospital. The hospital contains two major facilities; one in Solna and one in Huddinge (since the merger with Huddinge University Hospital in 2004).
• Södersjukhuset
• Danderyd Hospital
• Södertälje Hospital
• Norrtälje Hospital
• S:t Erik Ocular Clinic

Public transport

The county council is responsible for the public transport in Stockholm. The main organizers of the transportation system are two publicly owned companies. Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, SL, handles the bus, tram and train services while the boat traffic is handled by Waxholmsbolaget. The operation and maintenance of the public transport systems is delegated by the companies to several contractors.

The county is also responsible for paratransit services and Närtrafiken, a number of share taxi routes.

Culture and education

Besides the health and transportation services, the county council operates Stockholm County Museum, and two agricultural high schools at Berga and Säbyholm.