Lis Groes

Anne Lisbeth Groes, generally known as Lis Groes, (1910–1974) was a pioneering woman in post-war Danish social-democratic politics. The fifth woman to hold a ministerial post in Denmark, she was the first to become Minister for Trade and Industry (1953–1957). Active in campaigning for women's rights, she headed the Danish Women's Society (Dansk Kvindesamfund) from 1958 to 1964.

Biography Born in Copenhagen on 2 November 1910, Anne Lisbeth Tørsleff was the daughter of the educator Signe Andrea Tørsleff and the university lecturer P. Madsen Lindegaard. At Haderslev Katedralskole in southern Jutland, where her mother was principal, she was active in the students' association. When she was 18, she won the Politiken' contest in public speaking. The prize for this was a trip to Washington, D.C. There, representing one of the 19 countries present, she was the only woman to address the audience of 4,000.