Elisabeth Schweigaard Selmer

Elisabeth Schweigaard Selmer (born Ragnhild Elisabeth Schweigaard, 18 October 1923 – 18 June 2009) was a Norwegian jurist and politician for the Conservative Party.

Elisabeth Schweigaard Selmer
Schweiaard Selmer in 1965
Supreme Court Justice of Norway
In office 2 January 1971 – 5 January 1990
Prime Minister	Per Borten Trygve Bratteli Lars Korvald Odvar Nordli Gro Harlem Brundtland Kåre Willoch Jan P. Syse
Minister of Justice
In office 12 October 1965 – 3 October 1970
Prime Minister	Per Borten
Preceded by	O. C. Gundersen
Succeeded by	Egil Endresen
Personal details
Born	Ragnhild Elisabeth Schweigaard 18 October 1923 Kristiania, Norway
Died	18 June 2009 (aged 85)
Political party	Conservative Party
Spouse(s)	Knut S. Selmer
Occupation	Jurist, politician

During the Nazi occupation of Norway, Elisabeth Schweigaard worked with the Norwegian resistance movement "Hjemmefronten" against the Nazi collaborationist Quisling regime. Elisabeth was then just a teenager.

Personal life

She was born in Kristiania to Niels Anker Stang Schweigaard (1884–1955) and his wife Betty Reimers (1886–1968).[1] She had two older sisters, and was a great-granddaughter of Tellef Dahll Schweigaard[2] and great-granduncle of Anton Martin Schweigaard. Born as Ragnhild Elisabeth Schweigaard, she married law professor Knut Sejersted Selmer. Through him she was a daughter-in-law of Ernst W. Selmer.[3]

Career

In 1941, she was expelled from Oslo Cathedral School because of anti-NS behaviour. She enrolled as a student in 1945 and graduated as cand.jur. in 1949.[1] During the German occupation of Norway she had been involved in the Norwegian resistance, in illegal radio broadcasting.[4] After graduation, she started working as a secretary in the Ministry of Justice and the Police, but then worked as an attorney from 1950 to 1955. She then returned to the Ministry of Justice, being promoted to assisting secretary in 1962. On the local political level, Selmer had been a member of Oslo city council during the term 1951–1955.[1]

In 1965 she was appointed Minister of Justice and the Police as a part of the centre-right cabinet of Per Borten, the first woman to hold this position.[5] She left the Minister of Justice position on 3 October 1970, when replaced by Egil Endresen. She then served as a Supreme Court Justice from 1971 to 1990, having been appointed in 1970.[1]

Schweigaard Selmer was a member of many boards and councils. She was vice president of the Norse Federation from 1975 to 1978, and a long-time board member. She also sat on the boards of Oslo City Museum, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History and Norway's Resistance Museum. A Riksmål proponent, she was a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature. She was proclaimed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1980,[1] and has the Defence Medal 1940 – 1945.[3]

References

1. "Elisabeth Schweigaard Selmer" (in Norwegian). Storting.
2. Genealogy Archived May 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
3. Fougner, Else Bugge. "Elisabeth Schweigaard Selmer". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
4. Christensen, Trygve (1995). Bærum og krigen 1940–1945 (in Norwegian). Bekkestua: Bærum Public Library. p. 102. ISBN 82-991713-5-0.
5. "Elisabeth Schweigaard Selmer". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2010.