Eva Johanna Andén (23 April 1886 – 26 March 1970) was a Swedish lawyer. She became the first woman member of the
Swedish Bar Association
The Swedish Bar Association ( sv, Sveriges advokatsamfund) is an organisation for Swedish lawyers, including members of the Bar practicing law, under the title of ''advokat'', a title which is protected by Swedish law and reserved for the exclusi ...
on 14 March 1918.
Life
Eva Andén was born to the merchant Heribert Andén and Elin Forssman.
In 1907, she became a law student at the
University of Uppsala
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
, where she was the only female member of her class, and graduated in 1912. In 1912–1913, she toured Sweden and gave legal lectures on behalf of the
National Association for Women's Suffrage (Sweden)
The National Association for Women's Suffrage ( sv, Landsföreningen för kvinnans politiska rösträtt, LKPR) was a part of the general suffrage movement and the national society for women's suffrage in Sweden. It functioned as a parallel to the ...
; in 1913–1914 she was employed as a notary at the legal court of Falun, and in 1914–1915, she practiced law in the firm of Johan Tjerneld, secretary of the Swedish Bar Association. In 1915, she took over the law firm of
Anna Pettersson
Anna Maria Pettersson (5 January 1861 – 6 September 1929) was a Swedish lawyer. She was the first woman in Sweden to set up a legal agency, run by a woman, which was aimed primarily at female clients. Pettersson was also active in the Swedish ...
in Stockholm. The second woman lawyer in Sweden,
Mathilda Staël von Holstein, practiced in her firm in 1919–1923.
Eva Andén had a successful career until her death, and was particularly engaged in cases of divorce, allowance and other cases involving women and children.
Barbro Alving
Barbro Alving (12 January 1909 – 22 January 1987) was a Swedish journalist and writer, a pacifist and feminist, often using the pseudonym Bang. She wrote for, among others, the Swedish newspaper ''Dagens Nyheter'' and the magazines '' Idun'' ...
,
Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf (, , ; 20 November 1858 – 16 March 1940) was a Swedish author. She published her first novel, ''Gösta Berling's Saga'', at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...
and
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...
were among her clients.
She was a member of the government's state legal committee which advised the government in the law reforms regarding women and children, which underwent major reforms during the year in which
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
was introduced, and she contributed to the reforms in which the rights of children out of wedlock were strengthened (1917) and the reformed marriage law in which married women were freed from the legal guardianship of their husbands in 1920–1921.
She often contributed articles in the press, regarding the law and women's rights in issues of marriage, inheritance, abortion and prostitution. During the 1920s and 1930s she was a regular contributor to the
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
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 ...
weekly 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 ...
''.
She never married, but lived with the legal secretary
Lisa Ekedahl for many years. She had many friends, among them
Aleksandra Kollontai,
Karolina Widerström
Karolina Olivia Widerström (10 December 1856 – 4 March 1949), was a Swedish doctor and gynecologist. She was the first female physician with a university education in her country. She was also a feminist and a politician, and engaged in the qu ...
and
Ellen Fries
Ellen Fries (23 September 1855 – 31 March 1900) was a Swedish feminist and writer. She became the first female Ph.D. in Sweden in 1883. She was also involved in founding several women's organizations.
Biography
She born in 1855 at Rödslegà ...
.
See also
*
First women lawyers around the world
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in each country. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction su ...
References
Further reading
*
1886 births
1970 deaths
Swedish suffragists
Burials at Uppsala old cemetery
Swedish women lawyers
20th-century Swedish lawyers
20th-century women lawyers
20th-century Swedish journalists
20th-century Swedish women
{{Sweden-law-bio-stub