Malene (Malla) Sofie Samuelsen née Poulsen (11 July 1909 – 29 November 1997) was a Faroese politician 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 ...

who became the first woman to sit in the

Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''l ...

, the Faroese parliament, when she served for a short period as a substitute in 1964. She was also one of the founders of the Faroese Women's Association (''Kvinnufelagið''), frequently serving as its chair.

Biography

Born on 11 July 1909 in

Kirkja Kirkja ( da, Kirke) is a village on the island of Fugloy, Faroe Islands. It is located on the south-tip of the island, and its land is stretching all over the western side of the island, including a small enclave in the now uninhabited ''Skarðsv ...

on the easterly island of

Fugloy Fugloy (Danish ''Fuglø'', Old Norse ''Fuglaey'') is the easternmost island in the Faroe Islands. The name means ''bird island,'' and refers to the large number of birds that nest on the island's cliffs. Geography There are two settlements: * ...

, Malene Sofie Poulsen was the daughter of the fisherman Petur Pauli Poulsen (1881–1957) and his wife Susanne Elisabeth Zachariasen (1885–1919). One of seven children, after her mother died when she was eight, she was brought up by her maternal grandparents. Her grandfather,

Símun Mikkjal Zachariasen Simon Michael Zachariasen (3 January 1853 – 16 December 1931), also known as Símun Mikkjal Zachariasen, was a Faroese teacher and social activist. Zachariasen was born at Kirkja on the island of Fugloy. He was a driving force in the develop ...

, was a poet, politician and schoolteacher who played an active part in Faroese cultural life. When she was 16, Poulsen moved to

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

where she took care of the house where her uncle and brother lived while attending college. A couple of years later, she went to

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 ...

where she worked as a housemaid. When she was 35 she married a Danish sailor, Carl Niklas Samuelsen, and set up house in Tórshavn. They had two children together. Like many of her compatriots, she was often left alone when her husband was away at sea. In 1952, Samuelsen was one of those who founded the Faroese women's association ''Kvinnufelagið í Havn''. She was a board member for many years, sometimes the association's chair. She supported the association's goals of improving the political, economic and cultural roles of women. As the political parties showed little interest in having women members, the association set its own agenda, successfully having several women elected to the Tórshavn city council in 1956. Samuelsen, representing the Sjálvstýrisflokkurin party, was among them. She served on a number of committees involved in social services and education, and was re-elected in 1960. In 1964, acting for a short period as a substitute, she became the first woman to sit in the Faroese parliament. It was not until 1978 that the first women, Jona Henriksen and Karin Kjølbro, were officially elected to the Løgting. In 1965, Samuelsen was appointed head of the Tórshavn old peoples home where she remained for 13 years. She died in Tórshavn on 29 November 1997.

References

1909 births 1997 deaths Members of the Løgting Municipal councillors of the Faroe Islands Faroese women in politics Faroese feminists Faroese politicians {{Faroes-bio-stub