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 ...
in
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
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 ...
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)
References
Related reading
*Lønnå, Elisabeth (1996
''Stolthet og kvinnekamp : Norsk kvinnesaksforenings historie fra 1913''(Oslo: Gyldendal)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnevie, Margarete Ottilie
1884 births
1970 deaths
People from Nes, Buskerud
Norwegian women's rights activists
Norwegian feminists
Liberal Party (Norway) politicians
20th-century Norwegian politicians
20th-century Norwegian women politicians
Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people