Märta Johanna Bucht (1882–1962) was a Swedish schoolteacher,

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

and

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world p ...

. From 1908, she chaired the Luleå branch of the Swedish Association for Women's Suffrage (FKPR). She was also active in the peace movement. In 1919, she was one of the 12 Swedes who attended the Zurich conference where the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

was established. Throughout her life, Bucht supported the temperance movement, becoming a member of the

IOGT-NTO IOGT-NTO is a Swedish temperance society, the Swedish branch of IOGT International. In 2007, it had approximately 46,000 members, in 1,000 local groups. History IOGT-NTO was formed in 1970, through the merger of the Swedish chapter of IOGT wit ...

Biography

Born on 23 October 1882 in

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

, Märta Johanna Bucht was the daughter of the cartographer and town planner Gustaf Wilhelm Bucht (1849–1894) and his wife Rosina (Rosa) Maria née Högström (1853–1894). She was the fourth in a family of six children. After completing her schooling at a private school in Luleå, she worked for several years as a governess in

Malmberget Malmberget ("The Ore Mountain", Finnish language, Finnish and Meänkieli dialects, Meänkieli: ''Malmivaara'') is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and mining town situated in Gällivare Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden. It had 5,590 inhabit ...

. Following her father's death in 1894, her former headmistress covered the cost of her training as a schoolteacher at the Privata Högre Lärarinneseminariet in Stockholm from 1901 to 1903. On receiving her teaching diploma, Bucht returned to Luleå where she became a substitute teacher at the girls' school until she was engaged by Statens normalskola för flickor in Stockholm. In 1907, she was appointed to a permanent post at the girls' school in Luleå where she taught Swedish, German, geography and singing. She was a particularly active member of the school's staff, participating in the school's associations, festivities and theatricals. She was appointed deputy mistress in 1933, a position she help until her retirement in 1948. Thereafter she continued to take on assignments as a substitute. Shortly after its establishment in 1907, Bucht was elected chair of the Luleå branch of the Swedish women's suffrage association, participating both locally and at the national level. Her interest in the movement is evident from the correspondence she maintained with

Frigga Carlberg Anna Fredrika "Frigga" Carlberg (; 10 August 1851 – 3 October 1925) was a Swedish writer, social worker, feminist and advocate for women's suffrage. She was a member of the central committee of the National Association for Women's Suffrage fro ...

, an active member of the national association and chair of the Gothenburg branch.Thanks to a friendship she had established with the peace activist

Matilda Widegren Maria Matilda Aurora Widegren (1863–1938) was a Swedish educator and peace activist. A delegate for Sweden at the 1915 International Congress of Women held in The Hague, she helped establish the Swedish branch of the International League for ...

while studying, she joined the Swedish peace movement which developed as a result of the suffering in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She was one of the 12 Swedish participants at the 1919 Women's Peace Conference in Zurich, Switzerland. An active member of the Swedish central board, she chaired the Luleå branch for 40 years. She was also active in the local branch of the temperance association. Måarta Bucht died in Luleå on 1 November 1962 and in buried in the city's Innerstad cemetery.

Biography

References

Further reading