Marguerite Frick-Cramer

Marguerite Frick-Cramer (28 December 1887 – 22 October 1963), born Renée-Marguerite Cramer, was a Swiss historian. She became the first woman to join the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as a member in November 1918.[1][2]

Marguerite Frick-Cramer
Cramer during WWI at the IPWA
Born(1887-12-28)28 December 1887
Geneva, Switzerland
Died22 October 1963(1963-10-22) (aged 75)
NationalitySwiss
Scientific career
FieldsHistory
Signature

Biography

Frick-Cramer studied law and humanities in Geneva and Paris and became a professor at the University of Geneva.[3]

She participated in the creation of the International Prisoners of War Agency (IPWA) during the First World War before being co-opted as a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which at the time was made up exclusively of men.[4] Despite the hesitations some of its members felt in allowing a woman to join its ranks, the Committee understood that such change would be inevitable, in no small part because the war had deeply modified people's perception of gender equality.[5] As a result of her experience with the Committee, Frick-Cramer became the first woman to be a member of the governing body of an international organization.[1]

Frick-Cramer remained active with the Red Cross through the 1930s, participating in Committee meetings in which the organization's attitude towards Nazi Germany was discussed.[6]

Bibliography
  • Genève et les Suisses, 1914

References
  1. "International Review of the Red Cross" (PDF). IRC. 94 (888): 1279. Winter 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  2. Favez, Jean-Claude (1988). Une mission impossible ? [An impossible mission?] (in French). Lausanne: Payot.
  3. Martine Piguet (19 July 2005). "Frick [-Cramer], Marguerite". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. "Le CICR, 150 ans d'histoire et une capacité à se renouveller" [ICRC, 150 years and a renewal capacity] (in French). L'Obs. 11 February 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  5. "The International Committee of the Red Cross in the First World War". icrc.org. Retrieved 5 November 2017. It was a first for any international organization.
  6. Steinacher, Gerald (29 July 2017). "The Red Cross in Nazi Germany". OUPblog. Retrieved 6 November 2017.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.