Ellen Helga Louise Hagen (''née'' Wadström; 1873–1967) was a Swedish suffragette, women's rights activist and politician. She was a member of the National Association for Women's Suffrage, the chairperson of Liberala kvinnor (Liberal Women) in 1938–1946 and Svenska Kvinnors Medborgarförbund (Swedish Women's Citizen Society) in 1936–1963. During the 1920s and 1930s, she was internationally active within peace work and the Swedish delegate in the international peace conference in Paris in 1931.

Life

Hagen was born on 15 September 1873 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 ...

, Sweden. She was the daughter of the priest and writer

Bernhard Wadström Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

and Helga Westdahl (1838–1879), and the sister of the writer Frida Stéenhoff. In 1896 she married

Roger Hagen Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, governor of Gävleborg country. She was the mother of ambassador Tord Hagen. She was active as a speaker for Country Association for Women's Suffrage. She is described as a skillful speaker, and her contribution was appreciated: by her connections, the movement gained supporters from the upper class, who would not otherwise be willing to listen to a speech about women suffrage, and by her glamorous way of dressing, she proved wrong the caricature of a suffragette as "masculine". Women suffrage was achieved in 1919. After the death of her spouse in 1922, she was proposed by the government to succeed him as governor of Gävleborg country, though this did not come about. In 1923, she became the launching editor of a Swedish liberal feminist magazine, ''

Tidevarvet ''Tidevarvet'' (Swedish: ''The Epoch'') was a weekly political and feminist magazine existed between November 1923 and December 1936 in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile ''Tidevarvet'' was established in 1923. The first issue appeared on ...

''. Hagen died on 28 January 1967 in Stockholm.

Life

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