Cecilia Aina Nettelbrandt, née Bergens (27 June 1922 – 24 February 2009) was a Swedish politician ( Liberals). She was MP of the

Second Chamber Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

of the

Parliament of Sweden The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

from 1961 to 1976.

Early life

Nettelbrandt was born Cecilia Aina Bergens on 27 June 1922 in

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...

, Sweden, the daughter of Emanuel Bergens and his wife Ester (née Johansson). She received a ''

Civilekonom Civilekonom, literally "civil economist", is a professional title in Sweden (with corresponding titles in Denmark and Norway, see below) which traditionally refers to an individual who holds either a Bachelor's degree or a Master's degree in busin ...

'' degree in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1945 and a Candidate of Law degree in Stockholm in 1951.

Career

Legal and diplomatic career

Nettelbrandt worked as a teaching assistant in the National Swedish Board of Vocational and Technical Education (''Överstyrelsen för yrkesutbildning'') from 1945 to 1948, as an assistant master from 1948 to 1950, an assistant jurist from 1951 to 1953, and as a union lawyer in the Swedish Union of Teachers (''Sveriges lärarförbund'') from 1953 to 1970. She served as consul general in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

including 10 states in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

from 1976 to 1978. After just two years as Consul General in San Francisco, Nettelbrandt was appointed ambassador to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. During those two years, there had been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the Consulate General in San Francisco. Nettelbrandt, among other things, has been accused of not being knowledgeable and diplomatic enough. The conflict primarily occurred between Nettelbrandt and Consul Per Ström, leading to an investigation by the

Chancellor of Justice The Chancellor of Justice is a government official found in some northern European countries, broadly responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. History In 1713, the Swedish King Charles XII, preoccupied with fighting the ...

, . Nettelbrandt received criticism for making extensive additions to a protocol from a consultation meeting when the protocol was supposed to be adjusted. She also instructed the recorder not to report a matter that had been discussed at another consultation meeting. Nettelbrandt went on and served as ambassador to Kenya,

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, and the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

from 1978 to 1983, and ambassador to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from 1983 to 1987.

Other work

Nettelbrandt served as a member of the City Council in

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of t ...

from 1951 to 1962 and again from 1965 to 1966. Additionally, she was a board member of the Swedish Federation of Business and Professional Women (''Yrkeskvinnors Samarbetsförbund'', YSF) from 1952 to 1962, chairing the same organization from 1962 to 1968. Furthermore, she held the position of vice president in the International Federation of Business and Professional Women from 1965 to 1971. She was an active member of the Liberal People's Party, serving on its party board from 1958 to 1976, including a role as vice party leader from 1967 to 1976. Nettelbrandt's political career extended to the

Swedish Parliament The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and s ...

, where she served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from 1961 to 1976. In this capacity, she held the position of

Second Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag The speaker of the Riksdag is assisted by three deputy speakers who are also elected by a vote in the chamber. Traditionally, the second, third and fourth largest parties gets to name of one of their members for these offices. There is some disa ...

from 1971 to 1976, and she was also the vice chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Her involvement in various committees and boards included membership in the Swedish Commission for the Introduction of Right-Hand Driving (''Statens högertrafikkommission'') from 1963 to 1967, the board of

Foreningen Norden Foreningen Norden (Norwegian and Danish), Föreningen Norden (Swedish), Norræna félagið (Icelandic), Norrøna Felagið (Faroese), Peqatigiiffik Nunat Avannarliit (Greenlandic) and Pohjola-Norden (Finnish), ''The Norden Associations'', sometimes ...

from 1968 to 1976,

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

from 1969 to 1973, from 1970 to 1976, the Corporate Tax Inquiry (''företagsskatteutredningen'') from 1970 to 1976, the Tax Inquiry (''skatteutredningen'') from 1972 to 1974,

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

from 1971 to 1973, and the Board of Governors of the

Sveriges Riksbank Sveriges Riksbank, or simply the ''Riksbank'', is the central bank of Sweden. It is the world's oldest central bank and the fourth oldest bank in operation. Etymology The first part of the word ''riksbank'', ''riks'', stems from the Swedish w ...

from 1970 to 1976. She also served as the chairman of the Swedish-German Language Foundation within the

Swedish Trade Council The Swedish Trade Council ( sv, Exportrådet, or Sveriges Exportråd) was an organisation formed after a parliamentary decision July 1, 1972, in cooperation between the Government of Sweden and representatives from the Swedish business community, t ...

from 1988 to 1993.

Personal life

In 1946, she married Alfred Nettelbrandt, the son of Isak Nettelbrandt and Selma (née Magnusson).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nettelbrandt, Cecilia 1922 births 2009 deaths Members of the Riksdag from the Liberals (Sweden) Members of the Andra kammaren 20th-century Swedish politicians 20th-century Swedish women politicians Women members of the Riksdag Deputy speakers of the Riksdag Consuls-general of Sweden Ambassadors of Sweden to Kenya Ambassadors of Sweden to Rwanda Ambassadors of Sweden to Burundi Ambassadors of Sweden to Uganda Ambassadors of Sweden to Seychelles Ambassadors of Sweden to the Philippines People from Östersund Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen