Rosa Malmström, Asta Ekenvall and Eva Pineus

Eva Hilda Cecilia Pineus née Palme (1905–1985) was a Swedish politician, librarian and

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. Pineus was an active member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

's women association Folkpartiet liberalernas kvinnoförbund and of the

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

branch of the women's rights organization

Fredrika Bremer Association The Fredrika Bremer Association ( sv, Fredrika Bremer Förbundet, abbreviated FBF) is the oldest women's rights organisation in Sweden. The association stands for an inclusive, intersectional and progressive liberal feminism, and advocates for wome ...

. In 1958 together with

Asta Ekenvall Asta Ekenvall (6 April 1913 – 12 December 2001) was a Swedish librarian, one of the founders of the Kvinnohistorisk arkiv (Women's History Archive) of the University of Gothenburg and a pioneer in research and philosophy of women's history. ...

and

Rosa Malmström Rosa Astrid Tyra Malmström (1906–1995) was a Swedish feminist, schoolteacher and librarian. She is remembered in particular for her focus on women's literature while working at Gothenburg University Library from 1938 until her retirement. Reco ...

she co-founded the women's historical literature archive Kvinnohistoriskt Arkiv, known today as

KvinnSam KvinnSam - National Resource Library for Gender Studies, formerly the Women's History Collections, is the Swedish National Resource Library for Gender Studies. The collections belong to Gothenburg University Library. History The Kvinnohistoriskt ...

Early life and education

Born in

Djursholm Djursholm () is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area. Djursholm is divided into a number of different areas: Djursholm ...

on 26 September 1905, Eva Hilda Cecilia Palme was the daughter of the civil engineer Lennart Palme and his wife Cecilia née Günther. In 1930, she married Kaj Pineus, a municipal politician in Gothenburg, with whom she had three children. After completing her school education in Djursholm, she studied languages abroad, especially in France and the United States.

Career

Before her marriage, she worked for a time at the

Royal Swedish Library The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish ...

. After moving to Gothenburg, she became an active member of the Liberal Party's Women's Association, soon becoming its secretary. From 1947 to 1952, she chaired the Gothenburg branch of the influential women's rights organization

where she was successful in establishing lasting relationships with women's organizations in the other Nordic countries. In the late 1950s, when Asta Ekenvall and Rosa Malmström were planning to create a historical archive of women's literature, they invited Pineus to join them as an influential women's rights activist. In 1958, the three established the early research archive which formed a basis for

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

. Ekenvall was chair, Malström the archivist and Pineus, secretary. In 1971, it was transferred Gothenburg University Library where it was known as Kvinnohistoriska Samlingarna (Women's Literature Collection), now simplified to KvinnSam. It was thanks to Pineus' skillful fundraising that the archive was able to continue development until a post of archive librarian at the university library was created in 1971. Pineus was also active in the art sphere, serving on the board of Gothenburg Univserity's School of Arts, Crafts and Design (1947–1967), on that of the art association (1955–1967) and chairing the Friends of Röhsska Museum (1961–1972). Eva Pineus died in Gothenburg on 9 March 1985 and is buried in the city's Kviberg Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pineus, Eva 1905 births 1985 deaths Swedish librarians Swedish feminists Swedish women librarians People from Danderyd Municipality Liberal Party of Sweden politicians 20th-century Swedish women politicians 20th-century Swedish politicians Gender studies