Rakel Seweriin, née Solberg (26 June 1906 – 17 September 1995) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was the Norwegian Minister of Social Affairs from 1953 to 1955. She was born in Hof as a daughter of Casper Fredrik Solberg (1870–1932) and Zefra Eliagna Natterstad (1871–1949). She grew up in

Eidsfoss Eidsfoss is a village in Hof municipality, Vestfold county, Norway. It is located near Lake Eikeren. The village was the site of the Eidsfos Iron Works (''Eidsfos Jernverk'') which dated to 1697. The iron works was closed in 1873. The village is a ...

, where her father managed Eidsfoss Station. Her mother was a hotelier. She commenced her studies in 1926, and took courses as a stenographer in 1927 and 1928. From 1929 she worked as a stenographer, in 1942 she left Norway due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She and her husband had been active members of the

Norwegian resistance movement The Norwegian resistance (Norwegian: ''Motstandsbevegelsen'') to the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany began after Operation Weserübung in 1940 and ended in 1945. It took several forms: *Asserting the legitimacy of the exiled government, ...

, among others starting the illegal newspaper '' Fri Fagbevegelse''. She continued her work abroad, as a stenographer for the exiled

Norwegian High Command The Norwegian High Command ( no, Forsvarets Overkommando, FO) was Norway's top military leadership from 1970 to 2003. It was established in Northern Norway in 1940 by General Otto Ruge. It was then re-established by the Norwegian Government-in-exile ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She was also a member of the program council of the exiled part of the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

, from 1943 to 1945. Seweriin had been a member of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

city council from 1937 until the war broke out, and also served briefly in 1945. She was the deputy leader of the Workers' Youth League from 1937 to 1946. After the war she was a member of the Labour Party secretariat for women from 1945 to 1971—from 1953 to 1963 she chaired the secretariat, and was a member of the Labour Party's central committee. She was elected as a member of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

from the constituency Oslo, and was re-elected in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. On 2 November 1953, she temporarily stepped out of parliament as she became Minister of Social Affairs in

Torp's Cabinet Torp's Cabinet governed Norway between 19 November 1951 and 22 January 1955. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Oscar Torp Oscar Fredrik Torp (, 8 June 1893 – 1 May 1958) was a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He was party ...

. She had worked with social policy as a parliamentarian, but in an interview with Trond Nordby she confessed to having lacked a clear purpose with her position as Minister of Social Affairs. Legislative work in the ministry slowed, and as leader of the ministry she was clearly dominated by the bureaucrat staff, especially

Karl Evang Karl Evang (19 October 1902 – 3 January 1981) was a Norwegian physician and civil servant. He was born in Oslo, Kristiania as a son of assisting secretary Jens Ingolf Evang (1873–1914) and Anna Beate Wexelsen (1875–1954). He was a brother o ...

. She continued as Minister of Social Affairs until 1 August 1955, a few months after the formation of

Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet was the cabinet of Norway from 22 January 1955 to 28 August 1963. The government was led by Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen, marking his third term in said role. The cabinet was defeated in a motion of no-confidence in 1 ...

. During this time, her seat in parliament was filled by Hjalmar Larsen,

Aase Lionæs Aase Wind Lionæs (10 April 1907 – 2 January 1999) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, and a socialist feminist. She was born in Oslo. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1958, and was re-elected on fou ...

and

Gunnar Alf Larsen Gunnar Alf Larsen (27 December 1919 – 24 December 2003) was a Norwegian Labour Party politician. He was born in Oslo. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1965, and was re-elected on two occasions. He had previously serv ...

. When she stepped down in 1969, her time of 24 years as a parliament member was a record for a woman in Norway. Seweriin was also a member of the board of the

Norwegian Directorate of Labour Aetat (short for no, Arbeidsmarkedsetaten) was a Norwegian government agency responsible for battling unemployment. History It had its roots in the Directorate of Labour ( no, Arbeidsdirektoratet), which was founded in 1945. Its purpose was to " ...

from 1947 to 1953 and 1955 to 1967, and of the

Norwegian National Opera The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet ( no, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, links=no) is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisati ...

from 1957. She was a member of several public committees, among others commenting on existing laws. From 1963 to 1971 she chaired Landslaget for språklig samling. Rakel Seweriin was married twice, first to teacher, journalist and writer Ernst Samuel Sørensen (1903–1972), then, from 1937, to physician Alf Christian Seweriin (1909–1961). She died in September 1995 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seweriin, Rakel 1906 births 1995 deaths People from Hof, Vestfold People from Eidsfoss Labour Party (Norway) politicians Politicians from Oslo Members of the Storting Government ministers of Norway Women members of the Storting Socialist feminists Norwegian feminists Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom Norwegian resistance members Female resistance members of World War II Norwegian women in World War II 20th-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Women government ministers of Norway