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| 1973 |
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| No-fault divorce was introduced into the Swedish juridical code. Childless couples were given the right to divorce immediately on the request of either partner. Couples with children under the age of 16 were required to wait six months to secure a divorce. | 1 |
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| 1974, Feb. 27 |
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| The Riksdag gave final approval to a new constitution, effective on Jan. 1, 1975, which withdrew most of the monarch's residual powers. On April 20, 1978, the Riksdag approved the abrogation of Salic Law in Sweden, which since its introduction in 1810 had limited the succession of the throne to male heirs only. Final endorsement of the abrogation came on Nov. 7, 1979. | 2 |
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| 1975 |
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| Restrictions on abortions up until the twelfth week of pregnancy were abolished. Women seeking to abort pregnancies between the twelfth and eighteenth weeks were required to discuss their decision with a social worker. | 3 |
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| 1976 |
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| The 40-year rule of Social Democrats ended, and a Center-Right coalition assumed power until 1983. The defeat of Social Democrats in general elections led to the resignation of Palme's government on Sept. 20, and Thorbjorn Fälldin, leader of the Center Party and endorsed as prime minister by the Riksdag, formed a three-party coalition government. Fälldin's government collapsed amid differences over nuclear policy in 1978, but he returned to power in Oct. 1979, heading a new nonsocialist coalition government. | 4 |
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| 1979 |
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| The Swedish antispanking law went into effect. Under this new legislation, parents were forbidden to subject their children to corporal punishment or other injurious or humiliating treatment. | 5 |
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| 1980, May |
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| The most serious labor conflict in Sweden's history occurred when one-fourth of the total labor force went on strike. A compromise made between trade unions and the employers' federation brought an end to the countrywide paralysis that had resulted from the strike. | 6 |
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| 1983–91 |
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| Social Democrats returned to power. The Social Democrats obtained 12 more seats in the 1983 general elections, and Olaf Palme took office as prime minister on Oct. 8. He was shot dead on Feb. 28, 1986, and was succeeded by Ingvar Carlsson. | 7 |
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| 1983 |
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| The Health and Medical Services Act mandated that county councils promote the health of residents in their area and provide equal access to good medical care for all. Since the mid-1960s, county councils had taken over the management and planning of all outpatient services and psychiatric care in Sweden. | 8 |
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| 1984 |
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| Social Democrats, with the support of the Center Party, introduced the Dagmar Reform, which sought to control and limit the number of part-time private practitioners of medicine. | 9 |
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| 1985, March |
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| The Swedish government adopted a wide-ranging program to strengthen the position of women in the labor market. | 10 |
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| 1986 |
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| A Ministry of Environment and Energy was created to tackle energy questions in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union. | 11 |
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| 1987 |
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| A new Marriage Code went into effect that strengthened the financially weaker spouse's position on divorce or the death of the other partner. The new law also defined the limits of joint property for unmarried cohabitating couples. | 12 |
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