Instrument of Government (1809)

The 1809 Instrument of Government (Swedish: 1809 års regeringsform), adopted on 6 June 1809 by the Riksdag of the Estates and King Charles XIII, was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1809 to the end of 1974. It came about as a result of the Coup of 1809, in which King Gustav IV Adolf was deposed. The promulgation of the constitution marks the point at which Sweden transitioned from the absolute monarchy of the Gustavian era (established by a previous coup in 1772) into a stable, constitutional monarchy adhering to the rule of law and significant civil liberties.

Initially the Instrument only curtailed the powers of the king, who retained a significant role in politics, but over time the crown's powers were reduced still further by convention as Sweden developed into a full democracy.

The 1809 Instrument was finally replaced altogether by the Instrument of Government of 1974, which formally enshrined democracy and the will and equality of the people, exercised through a unicameral parliament.