Anna Wicksell Bugge (17 November 1862 – 19 February 1928) was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...
feminist,
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...
,
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
.
She helped found the debate society Skuld in high school, and served as president of the
Norwegian Association for Women's Rights
The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...
(January 1888 till June 1889) after the debate on morality brought on by Ragna Nielsen's resignation.
She moved to Sweden in 1889 and became a lawyer and Swedish diplomat, and the first female member of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...
' permanent mandate commission.
Life

Bugge was born in
Egersund
Egersund is a town in Eigersund municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is located along the southwestern coast of Norway, about south of the city of Stavanger. The town is situated along a strait which separates the mainland from t ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. Her particular interest in concrete reforms; She was more occupied with the social and economic reasons for the suppression of women, rather than spiritual discussions on morality and codes of conduct. In articles from the
NAWR periodical ''
Nylænde
''Nylænde'' ( Norwegian: ''New Frontiers'') was a Norwegian political and cultural magazine that focused on women's rights. It was regarded as one of the most influential political magazines in Norway in its time and played an important role in ...
'', she emphasized women's economic independence as a necessity for their liberation. In spirit of this she was also occupied with education and organizing of women. She was one of the teachers in the "free education for women", which was initiated by other feminists. She held lectures on women's professional education and stressed that women should be allowed as apprentices in craftsmanship. In ''Nylænde'', she spoke warm-heartedly about a
pension fund
A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.
Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and priva ...
for housekeepers. Bugge participated actively promoting
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, 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 gran ...
, and in 1888 she traveled around in Norway as a member of the Kvindestemmeretsforening (Association for Women's Suffrage) to further promote this cause.
In 1889, Bugge "united" with
Knut Wicksell
Johan Gustaf Knut Wicksell (December 20, 1851 – May 3, 1926) was a leading Swedish economist of the Stockholm school. His economic contributions would influence both the Keynesian and Austrian schools of economic thought. He was married to ...
without an official marriage
and left Norway for
Sweden, her new husband's homeland. She became a
Candidate of Law
Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries.
N ...
at the University of Lund, Sweden, in 1911. As a result of her political work there, she became a member of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide Intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by ...
'
Permanent Mandates Commission
The Permanent Mandates Commission (PMC) was the commission of the League of Nations responsible for oversight of mandated territories. The commission was established on 1 December 1920 and was headquartered at Geneva.
The existence of the Commiss ...
in 1921, their first female member. She there represented Sweden as a diplomat.
In
Sweden a memorial coin with her motif is in the planning.
References
Store Norske Leksikon
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bugge, Anna
Norwegian women's rights activists
1862 births
1928 deaths
People from Egersund
Norwegian feminists
Norwegian suffragists
Swedish suffragists
Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people
20th-century Swedish women