Ruth Svendsen (23 May 1915 – 10 January 1998) was a Norwegian trade unionist and politician for the Labour Party. She was born in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the ...

as a daughter of electrician Olaf Svendsen (1890–1978) and housewife Gunda Kristine Hagen (1885–1965). After commerce school and middle school she worked as an office clerk in

Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn w ...

. She was organized in the Union of Employees in Commerce and Offices, and was a member of the control committee from 1948 to 1952 and the national board from 1952 to 1975. During the same period she was also a supervisory council member of the

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions ( no, Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national union ...

. She was a member of Porsgrunn

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from 1951 to 1975. From 1975 to 1979 she was a member of

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

. She served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Telemark during the terms 1954–1957, 1958–1961, 1961–1965, 1965–1969, 1969–1973 and 1973–1977. In total she met during 138 days of parliamentary session. From 1959 to 1961 she was a national board member of the Labour Party, and from 1971 to 1977 she was a board member of Porsgrunn Lutheran Hospital.

References

1915 births 1998 deaths Politicians from Porsgrunn Politicians from Skien Norwegian trade unionists Deputy members of the Storting Labour Party (Norway) politicians Vestfold politicians Women members of the Storting 20th-century Norwegian women politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians {{Norway-politician-1910s-stub