Name Eva Kolstad Role Politician | Died March 26, 1999 Party Liberal Party of Norway | |
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Eva Lundegaard Kolstad (6 May 1918 – 26 March 1999) was a Norwegian politician and government minister for the Liberal Party, and a central figure in the history of gender equality in Norway and internationally. She served as President of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (1956–1968), member and vice chairman of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (1969–1975), Minister of Government Administration and Consumer Affairs of Norway in Korvald's Cabinet (1972–1973), leader of the Liberal Party (1974–1976) and as Norwegian Gender Equality Ombudsman (1978–1988), the first gender equality ombudsman worldwide. She contributed significantly to the development of the United Nations' gender equality policies.
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Early life
Eva Kolstad was born in 1918 in Halder, Norway. She worked as a bookkeeping teacher before becoming active in the cause of women's rights.
Career
Kolstad was the leader of the Liberal Party from 1974 to 1976, making her the first female party leader in Norway. She was also the first ombudsman for gender equality (likestillingsombud) in Norway, and in extent the world. Outside politics she worked as an accountant.
She was a minor ballot candidate in the 1953 election, and was not elected. She served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway from Oslo during the terms 1957–1961 and 1965–1969. In between she was runner-up behind Helge Seip on the Liberal ballot in the 1961 election, but the Liberals had no MPs elected. She was the Minister of Administration and Consumer Affairs in 1972–1973 during the cabinet Korvald. On the local level she was member of the executive committee of Oslo city council from 1960 to 1975.
Kolstad was a Commander of the Order of St. Olav and received the Medal of St. Hallvard in 1986.
Personal life
She was married to the lawyer and Assistant Director General in the Ministry of Justice, Ragnar Kolstad. Her father-in-law was Prime Minister Peder Kolstad.