Signe Marie Stray Ryssdal (née Signe Marie Stray; 22 July 1924–18 May 2019) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

lawyer and politician for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Early life and education

Stray Ryssdal was born in

Tromøy Tromøy (historic: ''Tromø'') is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1878 until its dissolution in 1992. The municipal area is now part of the municipality of Arendal in Agder county. Th ...

as a daughter of barristers

Sigrid Stray Sigrid Stray (née Kluge; 29 May 1893 – 3 July 1978) was a Norwegian barrister and proponent for women's rights. Personal life She was born in Sandnes as a daughter of merchant Reier Kluge (1859–1921) and Anna Gausel (1863–1939). In Marc ...

(née Kluge; 1893–1978) and

Christian Stray Christian Stray (14 January 1894 – 31 July 1981) was a Norwegian lawyer and politician for the Liberal Party. He was born in Christianssand as a son of timber merchant and shipowner Thorkild Marthinius Stray (1852–1912) and his wife Marie No ...

(1894–1981). She

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

her secondary education in 1943, and studied law at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

from 1945 to 1948. She spent the summer of 1948 studying at the

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Career

Stray Ryssdal was a deputy judge in

Kragerø Kragerø () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. ...

and

Steigen Steigen ('stejgen) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Leinesfjord. Other villages include Bogen, Leines, Nordfold, N ...

before working as a secretary and inspector in '' Riksskattestyret'' from 1951 to 1956. In 1956, she opened her own law practice in

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 ...

. She became a barrister with access to Supreme Court cases in 1960, as the third woman in Norway. In politics, she served as a deputy representative to 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 ...

from

from 1965 to 1973, and was a member of Oslo city council from 1968 to 1972. In 1972 she left the lawyer job to become chief administrative officer of social affairs () in Oslo. She stood for parliamentary election in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

on the Liberal People's Party ballot, but was not elected. Her career ended with the post of County Governor of

Aust-Agder Aust-Agder (, en, "East Agder") was a county (''fylke'') in Norway until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Vest-Agder to form Agder county. In 2002, there were 102,945 inhabitants, which was 2.2% of Norway's population. Its area was . The ...

, which she held from 1983 until her retirement in 1994. Stray Ryssdal was the chairman of the board of the National Insurance Administration from 1968 to 1980. She was also a board member of and the supervisory board of Kreditkassen. She was a member of several public boards and committees; some of them as a jurist (, , ) and some of them as a non-jurist, chairing from 1979 to 1993. She led the committees that published the

Norwegian Official Report A Norwegian Official Report ( no, Norges offentlige utredninger, NOU) is a report published by a panel or committee appointed by the Norwegian government. The Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the sup ...

s 1976:1 and 1988:39. She was also active in several organizations, including the

Norwegian Bar Association The Norwegian Bar Association ( no, Den Norske Advokatforening) is an association of Norwegian lawyers. It was established in 1908 as , and assumed its current name from 1965. As of 2008 the association had about 7,000 members. Among its publicati ...

Personal life

In December 1954, she married

Rolv Ryssdal Rolv Einar Rasmussen Ryssdal (27 October 1914 – 18 February 1998) was a Norwegian judge. From 1969 to 1984 he was the 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was Vice President of the European Court of Human Rights from 1981 to 1985 and Pre ...

(1914–1998), who would become Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. They had three children; , Kristine and . Stray Ryssdal resided in Arendal. Stray Ryssdal died in the Norwegian town of

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

on 18 May 2019, at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryssdal, Signe Marie Stray 1924 births 2019 deaths People from Arendal University of Oslo alumni Norwegian women lawyers Liberal Party (Norway) politicians Liberal People's Party (Norway, 1972) politicians 20th-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Politicians from Oslo Deputy members of the Storting County governors of Norway Women members of the Storting 21st-century Norwegian lawyers 20th-century Norwegian lawyers Stray family 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers