Ellen Anckarsvärd

Ellen (Eleonora) Anckarsvärd, née Nyström (1833–1898), was a Swedish women's rights activist.

She was the daughter of the architect Per Axel Nyström. In 1873, she co-founded Föreningen för gift kvinnas äganderätt (The Married Women Property Right Association) with Anna Hierta-Retzius, which is considered the first organized Swedish women's movement. According to Anna Hierta-Retzius, she was the center of the organisation with her intellect and efficiency. In 1884, she also co-founded Fredrika-Bremer-förbundet (The Fredrika Bremer Association), the main Swedish feminist movement of the 19th-century; in 1896, she became its Vice Chairman, and she is referred to as the successor of Sophie Adlersparre. According to Ellen Key, she was a good organizer, for which no juridical or practical problem was to difficult to solve.

In 1896, she became chairman of Svenska kvinnors nationalförbund (The Swedish National Council of Women), which became a part of International Council of Women in 1898.

References