Karin Ann-Marie Söder (née Bergenfur; 30 November 1928 – 19 December 2015) was a Swedish Centre politician. She was the first woman in Sweden to be elected the leader of a major

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

. She headed the Swedish Centre Party from 1985 to 1987. She was also one of the first female foreign ministers in the world.

Biography

Söder was born in Frykerud in Kil Municipality,

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a ''landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are ...

. Having graduated from secondary school in Gothenburg, she studied in Falun, and worked as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, first in Värmland and later in Täby, north of Stockholm, where she was a member of the local council from 1963 to 1971. She also sat on the Stockholm County Council from 1969 to 1973. She died in Täby in 2015.

Political career

Ascendancy

In 1971, Söder was elected a Member of the Swedish

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

, a position she held until 1991. The same year she became a member of parliament, she also became the second vice leader of the Centre Party. When Sweden got a centre-right government under Centre Party

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Thorbjörn Fälldin in 1976, she was named Minister for Foreign Affairs, the first woman ever to hold the post in Sweden. Söder's party left the government in 1978 over a conflict on nuclear power, and she was succeeded by liberal

Hans Blix Hans Martin Blix (; born 28 June 1928) is a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979) and later became the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. As such, ...

. In 1979 the Centre Party rejoined the coalition, and Söder returned to the Cabinet as Minister of Health and Social Affairs in 1979. The same year she was promoted to the post as the party's first vice leader. She held her ministerial post until the centre-right coalition lost the 1982 elections to the Social Democrats.

Leader of the Centre Party

In 1985, when Thorbjörn Fälldin stepped down after an unsuccessful election, she finally reached the highest position in her party, making the Centre Party the first major Swedish party to be headed by a woman. Her time at the top would however be short. Due to health reasons, she left the party leadership in 1987, succeeded by Olof Johansson.

Other positions

During her years in politics, she also held posts as chairperson of Save the Children Sweden 1983–1995 and as President of the

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 autonomo ...

1984–1985 and 1989–1990. She has also served as a member of several company boards, including

Skandia Skandia is a financial services corporation in Sweden. History Skandia started out as a Swedish insurance company in 1855. Today the brand operates in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Skandia also operates an internet bank called Skand ...

and Wermlandsbanken, as well as on the Board of the Royal Institute of Technology. She once again made political headlines in 2003, when she co-signed an article urging her fellow party members to vote Yes in the Swedish

Euro The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

, opposing the official party line. Despite her varied accomplishments, the political legacy Söder is most known for among Swedes may be the 1980 reform that shut the stores of '' Systembolaget'', the national alcoholic beverage retailing

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

, on Saturdays. The policy remained in place for many years, but was abolished in 2001.

Awards

Söder was awarded the Illis quorum by the government of Sweden in 1991.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soder, Karin 1928 births 2015 deaths Female foreign ministers Members of the Riksdag from the Centre Party (Sweden) Swedish Ministers for Foreign Affairs Leaders of political parties in Sweden Women members of the Riksdag Women government ministers of Sweden Swedish women diplomats Swedish Ministers for Health Swedish schoolteachers 20th-century Swedish women politicians Recipients of the Illis quorum