Camma Sylvia Larsen-Ledet née Søgaard (22 October 1915, Esbjerg — 12 August 1991, Aabenraa) was a Danish politician who represented the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

. She was elected to the Folketing in 1964, becoming Minister for Family Affairs from 1966 to 1968. From 1970 to 1986, she was mayor of Aabenraa in the south of Jutland.

Biography

Born on 22 October 1915 in Esbjerg, Camma Sylvia Søgaard was the daughter of Albert Poulsen Søgaard (1889–1950), a mechanic, and Lucia Catharina Jochumsen Holm (1879–1953), a seamstress. The second of three children, she was brought up in a modest home. After completing her middle school education, she was employed by the newspaper ''

Vestkysten ''Vestkysten'' was a Norwegian newspaper that was established on 16 September 1987. It was founded in Stavanger with capital from private enterprise and interested businesspeople. Editor-in-chief was Arvid Weber Skjærpe Arvid Weber Skjærpe (bor ...

'' where she was trained as an office worker. In 1932, after passing the trade school examination, she was promoted to the sales department, ultimately becoming the secretary of the newspaper's editor Knud Ree, who later became fisheries minister. In 1939, she married the journalist Clement Larsen-Ledet (1915–1984), gave up her job with ''Vestkysten'', and moved with him to Southern Jutland. In 1945, they moved to Aabenraa where her husband became the local editor for the daily newspaper ''Sønderjyden''. Initially she stayed at home raising their two children while developing an interest in politics. After becoming a member of the Social Democratic Party, she served on the party's local management board from 1954 to 1961, heading the Aabenraa women's committee (1957–1960). From 1950, she became a member of the Aabenraa town council where she remained for 12 years, gaining increasing responsibilities. In addition, from 1953 to 1955, she was a member of the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peac ...

's national board and in 1964 she was elected to the Folketing as the member for Ribe and was re-elected in 1966. As such, she was one of the few female Social Democrats. In the government of Jens Otto Krag, she was appointed Minister of Family Affairs. She succeeded in bringing in new legislation on family allowances with higher compensation for lost earnings during pregnancy. After failing to be re-elected in 1968, she once again devoted her attention to municipal affairs. Standing as the Social Democrat candidate as mayor of Aabenraa, she was elected in 1969 and served for the next 12 years. During her term, the urban area Høje Kolstrup was established and modern harbour facilities were created at Sønderjyllandskajen. As major, she proved to be an effective, authoritative speaker, capable of exerting leadership in a male-dominated environment. Camma Larsen-Ledet died in Aabenraa on 12 August 1991. She is buried in Aabenraa Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen-Ledet, Camma 1915 births 1991 deaths People from Esbjerg People from Aabenraa Municipality Danish women in politics Social Democrats (Denmark) politicians Women government ministers of Denmark Mayors of places in Denmark Women mayors of places in Denmark