Margarete Ottilie Bonnevie (née Skattebøl) (13 December 1884— 28 March 1970) was a Norwegian author, women's rights advocate and politician for the

Liberal Party of Norway The Liberal Party ( no, Venstre, lit=Left, V; se, Gurutbellodat) is a centrist political party in Norway. It was founded in 1884 and it is the oldest political party in Norway. It is positioned in the centre on the political spectrum, and it is ...

. A

liberal feminist Liberal feminism, also called mainstream feminism, is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy. It is often considered culturally ...

, she served as the 13th President of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

(NKF) from 1936 to 1946 and is credited with reviving the liberal women's rights movement in the 1930s. Bonnevie said that NKF should work for solutions that are in the best interest of all women and society, "be the captain who keeps a steady course" in the struggle for equality and "set out the main policy objectives and seek to get the government, parliament and local government bodies to implement the reforms that are required."

Biography

She was born at

Nesbyen Nesbyen is a town and the administrative center in Nesbyen municipality in the county of Viken, Norway. Nesbyen is located in the traditional district of Hallingdal. Summary Nesbyen has a population of about 3,500 inhabitants. It is located ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardan ...

, Norway. She was a daughter of

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

leader, Supreme Court Justice and Member of Parliament Ole Larsen Skattebøl (1844–1929) and Karen Christine Poppe Rømcke (1854–1932). She grew up in

Hallingdal Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. Hal ...

and was educated as a French language translator. She worked from 1906 to 1913 as French correspondent for

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world an ...

. In 1913, she married Supreme Court judge

Thomas Bonnevie Thomas Bonnevie (12 September 1879 – 19 May 1960) was a Norwegian Supreme Court justice. Biography Bonnevie was born at Trondheim, Norway. He was a son of Member of Parliament and cabinet minister Jacob Aall Bonnevie (1838–1904) and Anne Joh ...

(1879-1960), son of cabinet minister

Jacob Aall Bonnevie Jacob Aall Bonnevie (31 December 1838 – 13 August 1904) was a Norwegian educator, school director and text book author. He served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the Conservative Party. Biography Bonnevie was born in Christi ...

. He was also the brother of professor

Kristine Bonnevie Kristine Elisabeth Heuch Bonnevie (8 October 1872 – 30 August 1948) was a Norwegian biologist, Norway's first female professor, women's rights activist and politician for the Free-minded Liberal Party. Her fields of research were cytology, genet ...

(1872–1948) and jurist

Carl Bonnevie Carl Emil Christian Bonnevie (28 April 1881 – 26 September 1972) was a Norwegian jurist and peace activist. He also served as a Member of the Norwegian Parliament. Biography Bonnevie was born in Trondheim as the son of Jacob Aall Bonnevi ...

(1881-1972). She was president of the

1936–1946, and is credited with reviving the women's movement in the 1930s. She also served as a board member of the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

1939–1949. She was a co-founder of the Human-Ethical Association in 1956, and a member of its first board until 1958. She also served as President of the Oslo branch of the women's association of the Liberal Party and as a deputy member of the Oslo City Council in the 1930s. She also released a number of books. In 1932, she published her first and most notable book,
''Ekteskap og arbeide''
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she participated in the debate on women's position and women's role. She continued to write articles in journals and in daily press throughout her life.Elisabeth Lønnå
Margarete Bonnevie

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. The first edition (NBL1) was issued between 1921 and 1983, including 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. It was published by Aschehoug with economic support from the state. bought the rights to ...

Selected works

*''Ord som lever : En samling av norske og utenlandske citater og slagord'' – (1928) *''Ekteskap og arbeide'' – (1932) *''Familiekrisen og botemidler mot den'' – (1935) *''Patriarkatets siste skanse'' – (1948) *''Fra mannssamfunn til menneskesamfunn'' – (1957) *''Forslag til lov om barnetilleggskasse for lønnstakere, fremsatt for Odelstinget 20. februar 1956'' – (1956) *''Fra likestilling til undertrykkelse'' – (1964)

Biography

Selected works

References

Related reading