Martha Ribi-Raschle (28 November 1915 in Zurich – 4 October 2010 in

Uster Uster (High Alemannic: ''Uschter'') is a town and the capital of the Uster District in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It is the third largest town in the canton of Zürich, with almost 35,000 inhabitants, and is one of the twenty largest towns ...

canton of Zurich Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP). She was among the first women to seat in the National Council in 1971.

Biography

She was the daughter of a bank employee. She obtained the ''

matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

'' in 1935 and stayed in Italy and England to learn languages. She got married in 1936. After the early death of her husband, she worked as a secretary for the medical service of the City of Zurich from 1945 to 1977 before she became an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

in 1964. In the meantime, she studied economics at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

from 1957 to 1963 and earned a

licentiate degree A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin Am ...

. She joined the

Free Democratic Party of Switzerland french: Parti radical-démocratique it, Partito Liberale Radicale rm, Partida liberaldemocrata svizra , logo = Free Democratic Party of Switzerland logo French.png , logo_size = 200px , foundation = , dissolution = ...

in 1963 and became a member of the party's Women's Union (SVFF). In 1970, she unsuccessfully stood in the Zurich communal council election. After

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

was introduced in the canton of Zurich, Ribi was elected to the

Cantonal Council of Zürich The Cantonal Council of Zürich (german: Zürcher Kantonsrat) is the legislature of the canton of Zürich, in Switzerland. Zürich has a unicameral legislature. The Cantonal Council has 180 seats, with members elected every four years. Election ...

in Zurich's 2nd constituency in 1971. In the October 31, 1971 federal election, Ribi was elected as a National Councillor. She represented the FDP party during three terms until 1983. She was among the first ten women to ever seat in the National Council, and one of the three earliest female representatives of the canton of Zurich alongside

Hedi Lang Hedi Lang (30 October 1931 – 31 March 2004) was a Swiss politician. She was one of the first women to be elected to the Swiss National Council, the first woman elected to a cantonal executive and the second woman to serve as President of the ...

and

Lilian Uchtenhagen Lilian Uchtenhagen (7 September 1928 – 6 September 2016) was a Swiss politician and economist. She was one of the ten first women elected to the National Council, the Swiss Parliament's house and first women to be a candidate to the Federal C ...

. Besides her short term as the deputy chairwoman of the FDP, she was recognised for her work in social and healthcare policy in the Federal Assembly. She published her opinions in professional journals. Moreover, she was the chairwoman of the Association of the Ergotherapeutic School of Zurich.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribi, Martha 20th-century Swiss women politicians Women members of the National Council (Switzerland) Members of the National Council (Switzerland) Free Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Politics of the canton of Zürich University of Zurich alumni 1915 births Politicians from Zürich 2010 deaths 20th-century Swiss politicians