Vera Hjelt

Early life and education Vera Hjelt was born to a middle-class family, as the second child of school principal Carl Wilhelm Hjelt and Augusta Charlotta von Pfaler. She had a relatively lenient upbringing: her father did not consider girls' education to be of much importance, and her mother, who had become disabled when Vera was young, could not contribute much towards her education.

She is known to have been an avid reader, and aspired to become a sculptor. She spent much of her time travelling around Finland, visiting factories and workshops, to witness and monitor working conditions first-hand.

Writing Hjelt wrote for a seasonal (Christmas) publication in 1888–1902, and for a children's magazine in 1905–1906, in both cases for their Finnish and Swedish language versions.

Outside parliament, she also served in numerous board and supervisory council roles at various public sector and charitable organisations. Qvinnan på de praktiska arbetsområdena (1888) Mellan läxan och leken (1894) Siskosarjalle satuja ja kertoelmia (1894) Undersökning af nålarbeterskornas yrkesförhållanden i Finland (1908) Undersökning af yrkesarbetares lefnadsvillkor i Finland 1908-1909 (1911) Tutkimus ammattityöläisten toimeentuloehdoista Suomessa 1908-1909 (1912) Medborgarkunskap (1915) Socialmuseum (1930) Arbetsskydd mot olycksfall och ohälsa (1939)