Alina Josefina Rosalie Jägerstedt (3 June 1858 – 3 November 1919) was a Swedish
social democrat
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
and
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ist. She was the only female member at the congress of 1889, where the
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...
was founded. She participated as the representative for the (Scandinavian Tobacco Worker's Union). Thanks to the motion she presented at the congress, both sexes were included in the Swedish Social Democratic Party from the start.
Life
Alina Jägerstedt was born in a Stockholm working class family. Her father, police officer Anders Johan Jägerstedt, died shortly after her birth, and her two brothers were placed in an orphanage (
Stora Barnhuset
''Stora Barnhuset'' (literally: "Great Children's Home"), from 1785 known as ''Allmänna Barnhuset'' ("Public Children's Home"), was Sweden's largest orphanage, founded 1633 in Stockholm and active until 1922. The charitable foundation of the orph ...
) because her mother was unable to support all of her children as a widow. Jägerstedt started to work in the
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
industry at the age of twelve. After having a child early with a man who abandoned her, she supported both herself, her daughter and her elderly mother alone.
Jägerstedt joined the ''
Skandinaviska Tobaksarbetarförbundet'' in 1884, the year of its foundation. Not only were there many women in the tobacco industry, but in contrast to other industrial work, women often had more qualified work assignments within this industry, which gave them a stronger position in its union than what was often otherwise the case at the time. Jägerstedt was a member of the union's board and several committees during the 1880s and 1890s, and it was in this capacity she participated in the congress of 1889, when the
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...
was founded. During the congress she made a motion demanding women should be included as party members, which was not common for political parties at the time, but was supported by the congress. After the Social Democratic women's club ''
Stockholms allmänna kvinnoklubb'' was founded by
Emilie Rathou in 1892, Jägerstedt, as well as
Kata Dalström
Anna Maria Katarina "Kata" Dalström, née Carlberg (18 December 1858 – 11 December 1923), was a Swedish socialist and writer. She belonged to the leading socialist agitators and leftist writers in contemporary Sweden, and has been referred to a ...
,
Anna Sterky,
Anna Lindhagen and
Amanda Horney, joined the club.
In 1906, Jägerstedt was appointed member of the Communal Employment Agency in the city of Stockholm, and then referred to as the first working-class woman to be given a position in a municipal council. In 1913, she was elected to the 15th district of the Stockholm Retirement Council. When the Scandinavian Tobacco Worker's Union was nationalized in 1915, she was part of the committee of former members who negotiated compensation for those losing their positions, of which she herself was one. The last years of her life, she managed a tobacco shop with her daughter in
Vasastaden Vasastan, or Vasastaden, may refer to:
* Vasastan, Stockholm, a district in Stockholm, Sweden
* Vasastan, Gothenburg, a district in Gothenburg, Sweden
* Vasastaden, Linköping
Vasastaden is a city district in Linköping, consisting of mostly ap ...
.
References
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100811232503/http://www.arbetarrorelsenstankesmedja.se/files/infonrett.pdf
* Anne-Marie Lindgren & Marika Lindgren Åsbrink: ”Systrar, kamrater!” Arbetarrörelsens Tankesmedja
* Eva Schmit
Kvinnor, kamrater… Kvinnans roll i arbetarrörelsens uppbygge till slutet av 1930-talet. Till Eisersömmerskornas modiga kamp. Bokförlaget Röda Rummet 1982
Rösträtt för kvinnor. Tidning utgiven av Landsföreningen för kvinnans politiska rösträtt, 1 November 1913
* Christina Carlsson: ''Kvinnosyn och kvinnopolitik: en studie av svensk socialdemokrati 1880-1910'' (1986)
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jagerstedt, Alina
1858 births
Swedish feminists
1919 deaths
Swedish Social Democratic Party politicians
Swedish trade unionists
19th-century Swedish politicians
Swedish women's rights activists
19th-century Swedish women politicians
Swedish socialist feminists
20th-century Swedish women politicians
20th-century Swedish politicians
Politicians from Stockholm