Mathilde Johanne Malling Hauschultz (1885–1929) was a Danish lawyer and a pioneering female politician. She was one of the first four women to be elected to the Folketing (the Danish national parliament) in 1918.

Biography

Born on 2 December 1885 in Copenhagen, Mathilde Johanne Malling was the daughter of the high court lawyer Gustav Frederik Ludvig Vilhelm Schneider Malling (1855–1919) and Hortensia Martine Malmberg (1860–1946). Raised in a well-to-do environment, she matriculated from Laura Engelhardt's School in 1905, studied law at the University of Copenhagen and graduated as

Cand.jur. 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. ...

in 1911. She immediately entered her father's legal firm, becoming a high court barrister and her father's partner in 1914. In 1915 she married the high court lawyer Rudolph Hauschultz (1884–1958) with whom she took over her father's business on his death in 1919. Following in the footsteps of

Henny Magnussen Henny Sophie Magnussen née Petersen (1878–1937) was a Danish lawyer, the first woman to be permitted to work in the high courts of Denmark after successfully graduating from the University of Copenhagen in 1905. She rallied support from members ...

, she became a well-established barrister. On the political front, she was an active supporter of improvements to national defence, joining the Danish Women's Defence Association (''Danske Kvinders Forsvarsforening'') in 1907. In 1914, she co-founded the Danish Women's Conservative Association (''Danske Kvinders konservative Forening''), the first party-political women's organisation. By 1918, she had become widely known for her influence on the agenda of the Conservative People's Party where she also stood in favour of women's inclusion in the 1918 elections. It was therefore no surprise that not only she, but her colleague

Karen Ankersted Karen Marie Ankersted Hansen (1859–1921) was a Danish teacher and a pioneering female politician. She was among the first four women to be elected to the Municipal Council of Frederiksberg in 1909 as well as one of the first four to be elected t ...

were both elected to the Folketing as representatives of the Conservative People's Party. Two other women were also elected: Helga Larsen for the Social Democrats and

Elna Munch Elna Munch née Sarauw (13 June 1871 – 17 November 1945) was a Danish feminist and politician, (Danish Social Liberal Party). She was the co-founder of the Landsforbundet for Kvinders Valgret ( National Association for Women's Suffrage) or LKV ...

for the Social Liberals. After Ankersted died in 1921, she was the only conservative women in the Rigsdag. She fought for better legal conditions for housewives and children while continuing to call for improvements to defence. She was a frequent contributor to magazines and newspaper, editing the '' Berlingske Tidende'' column on ''Kvinden og Hjemmet'' (Women and the Home). Apparently as a result of over-exertion, she died from a stroke on 30 December 1929, only 44 years old. She is buried in Copenhagen's

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malling Hauschultz, Mathilde 1885 births 1929 deaths Members of the Folketing Women members of the Folketing Politicians from Copenhagen Conservative People's Party (Denmark) politicians 20th-century Danish lawyers 20th-century Danish women politicians Danish women's rights activists Danish feminists University of Copenhagen alumni