Else Marie Zeuthen née Bengtsson (1897–1975) was a Danish

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. In the 1950s, she represented the

Danish Social Liberal Party The Danish Social Liberal Party ( da, Radikale Venstre, , Radical Left) is a social-liberal political party in Denmark. The party was founded as a split from the Venstre Reform Party in 1905. Historically, the centrist party has played a centra ...

as a member of the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

. From 1941 to 1953, she headed the Danish branch of the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

and was president of the international organization from 1956 to 1965. Zeuthen opposed Denmark's membership of NATO. She contributed to creating a Danish network of associations and institutions able to collaborate with similar organisations at the international level.

Early life, family and education

Born in the

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

district of Copenhagen on 10 October 1897, Else Marie Bengtsson was the daughter of the teacher Svend Otto Bengtsson (1871–1956) and his wife Elise Marie née Lassen (1873–1956). In 1915, she matriculated from Marie Kruse's School and earned a master's degree in English from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1921. In November 1924, she married the economics professor Frederik Ludvig Bang Zeuthen (1888–1959). They had no children.

Career

In 1919, while still a student, Zeuthen was a co-founder of the social science journal ''Socialvirke'' (Social Work). On graduating, she became a tutor, translator, and from 1929 to 1935, a teaching assistant at the university. She chaired

Kvindelig Læseforening Kvindelig Læserforening (English: Women Readers' Association) was a membership-based, private library for women which existed from 1872 until 1945 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its former building on Gammel Mønt (No. 1) is designed by Ulrik Plesner. I ...

(Women's Reading Association) from 1935 to 1945. Her main interest was however international cooperation on peace. After serving on

Danske Kvinders Fredskæde Danske Kvinders Fredskæde (Danish Women's Peace Chain) is the original name of the Danish branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. It was founded in 1915 following the International Congress of Women held in The Hague. Th ...

, the Danish branch of the

(WILPF), in 1935 she became a board member of the central organization and headed the Danish chapter from 1941 until 1953 when she resigned after becoming a member of the Folketing. She supported the WILPF throughout the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. As a member of the Folketing, representing the

, she focused on social issues, including international relations such as membership of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and problems in developing countries. In accordance with the party line, she opposed Denmark's entry into

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. Zeuthen continued to serve on the central WILPF board from 1946, becoming international chairman from 1956 to 1965. Else Zeuthen died in

Rungsted Rungsted, also known as ''Rungsted Kyst'' is an affluent suburban neighborhood in Hørsholm Municipality on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The center of Hørsholm is located two kilometers west of Rungsted. At the Øresund coast is ...

or 27 December 1975 and was buried in

Hellebæk Hellebæk is a town located on the coast five kilometres northwest of Helsingør, North Zealand, some 40 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It has merged with the neighbouring community of Ålsgårde to form an urban area with a population o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeuthen, Else 1897 births 1975 deaths Members of the Folketing Women members of the Folketing Danish pacifists Danish anti-war activists Danish women's rights activists Pacifist feminists Danish Social Liberal Party MEPs University of Copenhagen alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of the University of Copenhagen Women's International League for Peace and Freedom people

Early life, family and education

Career

See also

References