Kirsten Auken (25 June 1913 – 21 January 1968) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists a ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, who was one of the leading proponents of the introduction of

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

in Denmark. She was the mother of politicians

Margrete Auken Margrete Helle Auken (born 6 January 1945) is a Danish politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2004. She is a member of the Socialistisk Folkeparti, part of the European Green Party. She was also former ...

and Svend Auken.

Biography

She was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

to Professor of

Dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medica ...

Svend Lomholt (1888-1949) and Marie Kirstine Siegumfeldt Beck (1888-1920) and married physician Gunnar Auken in 1940. They both participated in the Danish resistance movement and were politically active in

Danish Unity Danish Unity ( da, Dansk Samling) is a political party in Denmark, founded in 1936 by Arne Sørensen. In 1939 the National Unity party, established by Victor Pürschel in 1938, merged with the party. It contested elections in 1939, 1943, 1945, 19 ...

, and subsequently in the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

. In 1953 Auken became Dr.Phil. on the "Undersøgelser over unge kvinders sexuelle adfærd" ("Studies on the sexual behaviour of young women"). She died in 1968 of cancer.

Family

* Svend Auken

Sources

www.kvinfo.dk, om Kirsten Auken
1913 births 1968 deaths Politicians from Copenhagen Danish sexologists 20th-century Danish women politicians 20th-century Danish politicians {{Denmark-politician-stub