Elisabeth Tamm | |
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| member of theParliament of Sweden | |
| In office 1921–1924 | |
| municipal communal speaker for Julita | |
| In office 1933–1936 | |
| member of the board of directors of the city council | |
| In office 1919–1931 | |
| chair of the Communal Council of Julita | |
| In office 1916 | |
| deputy chairman of the Communal Council of Julita | |
| In office 1913 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1880-06-30)30 June 1880 Fogelstad, Julita, Sweden |
| Died | 23 September 1958(1958-09-23) (aged 78) |
| Political party | Liberal Independent (from 1924) |
| Parent |
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| Occupation | politician and activist |
Elisabeth Tamm (30 June 1880, at the manorFogelstad inJulita, Södermanlands län – 23 September 1958) was a Swedishliberal politician and women's rights activist. She was known in the parliament asTamm i Fogelstad ('Tamm of Fogelstad').
She was the eldest daughter and heiress of the Parliamentarian and landownerAugust Tamm and Baroness Emma Åkerhielm af Margrethelund. She and her sister Märta were schooled at home by a governess, and were also instructed by their father in managing an estate. Elisabeth attended lectures atUppsala University; however, in 1905 she inherited Fogelstad Manor from her father, and abandoned her plans to study in order to attend to her estate. She never married.
Her father being a politician, Tamm showed an early interest in politics and the growing women's movement.
Being an unmarried woman of legal majority as well as a wealthy property owner, she fulfilled the criteria making her qualified to vote in municipal elections in accordance with the 1862 law, and when women became eligible for municipal elections in 1909, she became engaged in local politics.
She was the deputy chairman of the Communal Council of Julita in 1913, the chairman in 1916, and a member of the board of directors of the city council from 1919 to 1930. She was chairman of the independent politically unaffiliated women's organisationFrisinnade kvinnors riksförbund ofSödermanland from 1922 to 1931, and municipal communal speaker for Julita from 1933 to 1936.
In 1921, she became one of the five first women to be elected to the Swedish Parliament after women's suffrage, alongsideNelly Thüring (Social Democrat),Agda Östlund (Social Democrat) andBertha Wellin (Conservative) in the Lower house (Andra kammaren), andKerstin Hesselgren in the Upper house (Första kammaren). She focused on women's rights issues, such as equal salaries for women and the access to all official professions for both sexes; the latter issue was addressed between 1919 and 1925 through theBehörighetslagen. She was originally involved with the Liberal Party, but was an independent from 1924. She served as a member ofparliament until 1924.
She continued to be active in municipal politics after she left parliament. She retired from politics for health reasons in 1936.
Tamm wrote for the women's rights movement papersTidevarvet andVi kvinnor. She also founded and financedTidevarvet and aNorwegian women's magazine,Kvinnen og Tiden (1945–1955).[1]
In 1925, she initiated theKvinnliga Medborgarskolan ('Citizens' School for Women') on her estateFogelstad, where she served as chairman. She was also active in ecology and wrote the bookFred med jorden ('Peace with Earth') withElin Wägner in 1940.[citation needed] Tamm was elected in 1953 to serve on the Executive Council of theWomen's International Democratic Federation.[2]
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