Photograph of Mathilda Stael von Holstein

Christina Mathilda Staël von Holstein (1876–1953) was a Swedish lawyer. She was the second woman to become a lawyer in Sweden, the first being Eva Andén. She was known as a feminist throughout her lifetime.[1][2]

Biography

She was born in Kristianstad as the daughter of the nobleman and Colonel Axel Staël von Holstein and Cecilia Nordenfeldt and grew up in Värmland.[3] She was orphaned early and left with responsibility for her eleven siblings, and never married.

She was a correspondent at a law firm, then an assistant and an accountant at the Stockholm City Health Board. She became a Candidate of Law in Stockholm in 1918. She was also a member of the Fredrika Bremer Association and chairman of the Stockholm Women's Association. From 1919 to 1923 she was a partner in Eva Andén's law firm. As a lawyer, she primarily worked on family law and property issues.[4]

One of the biggest problems for women to obtain government office during this time was that the law defined the applicant for such jobs as a "Swedish man". The Ministry of Justice formed a committee in 1919 to investigate and remove this barrier from the law through a change of constitution. The chairman of the committee was Emilia Broomé, the first woman to chair a government committee. Staël von Holstein was a committee member. The committee's work resulted in the Competence Law of 1923.

Staël von Holstein was awarded the Illis quorum by the King of Sweden in 1946.[1]

She died in Stockholm.

See also

Sources

  1. 1 2 "C Mathilda Staël von Holstein". Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. ↑ Melby, Kari; Pylkkänen, Anu; Rosenbeck, Bente; Wetterberg, Christina Carlsson (2000). The Nordic Model of Marriage and the Welfare State. Nordic Council of Ministers. ISBN 9789289305624. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "Göteborgsfamiljer - Christina Mathilda (Ina) Stael von Holstein". gamlagoteborg.se. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Melby, Kari; Ravn, Anna-Birte; Wetterberg, Christina Carlsson (2009). Gender Equality and Welfare Politics in Scandinavia: The Limits of Political Ambition?. Policy Press. ISBN 9781847424655. Retrieved 3 September 2017.

Further reading


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