Bertha Wellin (11 September 1870 – 27 July 1951) was a Swedish politician (Conservative) and nurse. She was one of the first five women to be elected to the Swedish parliament.

Life

Bertha Wellin was the daughter of the

tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns. Tax collectors are often portrayed as being evil, and in the modern wo ...

of Vickleby, Alrik Wellin, and Jenny Melén.

Nursing career

Wellin was educated as a nurse at the ''

Sophiahemmet Sophiahemmet is a private hospital at Norra Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It is associated with the Sophiahemmet University College. Its connection with the royal family goes back to 1884 when nursing education sponsored by Queen Sophia was ...

'' in Stockholm, and was employed within the Stockholm Poor Care. Wellin was a board member of several of the medical centers in Stockholm, such as ''

'' (1917). She was a co-founder and a member of the board of directors of the '' Svensk sjuksköterskeförening'' ('Swedish Nurses Association') or SSF in 1910 and chairperson from 1914 to 1933. From 1920, she served as a member of the board of directors in the Committee of Nordic Nurses Cooperation. From 1911, she was the editor of ('Swedish Nurses' Paper').

Political career

In 1912, Wellin was elected to the Stockholm City Council as a Conservative, and in 1919, she joined the board of directors for public health care. In 1921, she became one of the first five women to be elected to the Swedish Parliament ( Riksdag) 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 ...

, alongside Nelly Thüring (Social Democrat), Agda Östlund (Social Democrat) and

Elisabeth Tamm Elisabeth Tamm (30 June 1880, at the manor Fogelstad in Julita, Södermanlands län – 23 September 1958) was a Swedish liberal politician and women's rights activist. She was known in the parliament as ''Tamm i Fogelstad'' ("Tamm of Fogel ...

(Liberal) in the ''

Andra kammaren The Andra kammaren (lit. Second Chamber) was the lower house of the bicameral Riksdag of Sweden between 1866 and 1970 that replaced the Riksdag of the Estates. The upper house was the Första kammaren. At the time of its abolition the chamb ...

'' (Lower house), and

Kerstin Hesselgren Kerstin Hesselgren (14 January 1872 – 19 August 1962) was a Swedish politician. Hesselgren became the first woman to be elected into the Upper House of the Swedish Parliament after female suffrage was introduced in 1921. She was elected by sug ...

in the ''

Första kammaren The Första kammaren (literally "First Chamber", often abbreviated 'FK') was the upper house of the bicameral Riksdag of Sweden between 1866 and 1970 that replaced the Riksdag of the Estates. During the bicameral period, the lower house of the ...

'' (Upper house). She was a member of the lower house; she left her seat in 1935. As a member of parliament, Wellin was foremost engaged in issues regarding the nursing profession. As a conservative, her view of nursing was that it was not to be regarded as a profession but as a holy calling of mercy. Her work both as an MP and as head of the Nursing Association was affected by this view, which blocked questions regarding higher wages and fewer working hours. This gradually caused more conflict within the nursing association when it became more and more dominated by nurses who did not come from a wealthy background but needed to support themselves on their salaries, who demanded higher wages and set working hours, and wished to be regarded as professionals rather than as philanthropic workers. In 1932–1933, the professional party gained a majority within the nursing association, and Wellin saw herself forced to resign from her chair, leaving the meeting as well as the association singing hymns. She left her seat in the parliament as well when she did not run for the 1936 election. Wellin was given the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

in 1935.

Sources

* ”Nordisk familjebok, Wellin, Bertha". 1904–1926. * Svenska dagbladets årsbok. Stockholm: Svenska dagbladet. 1936. p. 22. Libris 283647 * Dufva, S., G (2010). Klass och genus i vården. I H. Strömberg & H. Eriksson (Eds.), Genusperspektiv på vård och omvårdnad (p.50). * Ann-Cathrine Haglund, Ann-Marie Petersson, Inger Ström-Billing, eds. (2004). Moderata pionjärer: kvinnor i politiskt arbete 1900–2000. Stockholm: Sällskapet för moderata kvinnors historia. Libris 9666368. (inb.) Bertha Wellin, 1870–1951. Högerns första kvinnliga riksdagsledamot by Stina Nicklasson and Ann-Marie Petersson

Life

Nursing career

Political career

Sources

Further reading