Bodil Pauline Dybdal (20 November 1901 – 3 June 1992) was a Danish lawyer. After serving as secretary of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

's municipal court, in 1933 she was appointed ministerial secretary under Karl Kristian Steincke at the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. After serving as a municipal judge, in 1953 she became the first woman in Denmark to serve as a judge in the

Supreme Court of Denmark The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish Pa ...

, a position she maintained until she retired in 1970.

Biography

Born in

on 20 November 1901, Bodil Pauline Dybdal was the daughter of the mayor and police chief Theodor Dybdal (1856–1939) and Alma Grove Rasmussen (1871–1951). In 1970, she married the Supreme Court judge Jens Christian Andersen Herfelt (1894–1972). After matriculating from N. Zahle's School in 1920, she studied law at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

, graduating in 1926. She went on to serve as a secretary in Copenhagen's Upper Presidium where from 1930 to 1932 she was also a proxy. In 1933, she moved to the

where in 1935 she became the first woman to serve as a ministerial secretary. She was also employed as the

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

secretary. In 1940, she became a judge for Copenhagen's municipal court and, in 1949, for the

Østre Landsret The Østre Landsret (Eastern High Court), established in 1919, is one of Denmark's two High Courts, along with the Vestre Landsret (Western High Court). Both High Courts function as a civil and criminal appellate court for cases from the subordina ...

, one of Denmark's two high courts. In 1953, Dybdal became the first woman to serve as a judge in the

, a position she maintained until she reached retirement age in 1970. She nevertheless continued to work as a member of the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

until 1976. Dybdal contributed to a number of other legal entities and cases, including the Prison Authority (1946–50), Purge Law cases (1949–55), the Child Welfare Commission (1949–55) and the Criminal Law Commission (1950–53). After chairing the Commission on Insurance Companies in 1953, she became a board member of the Danish Judges Association (1954–59). Bodil Dybdal died in Copenhagen on 4 June 1992.

Awards

In 1951, Dybdal was one of the first women to be honoured with the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. In 1954, she became a First Class Knight, in 1958 a Commander, in 1967 a First Class Commander and in 1971 she received the Grand Cross.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dybdal, Bodil 1901 births 1992 deaths Lawyers from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish lawyers 20th-century Danish judges Supreme Court (Denmark) justices University of Copenhagen alumni Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century Danish women lawyers 20th-century women judges