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Wilhelmina van Embden

1870 – 1959

Dutch politician

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About Wilhelmina van Embden

Lived 1870 – 1959 (aged 88). Wilhelmina van Embden was a Dutch politician, women's rights activist and literary scholar.

Hendrika Wilhelmina Bernardina "Mien" van Itallie-van Embden (22 October 1870 - 6 September 1959) was a Dutch lawyer and politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1928 until 1933 for the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB).

She was active in the women's rights and peace movements. From a young age she was a member of the Vereeniging voor Vrouwenkiesrecht, of which she became a leading figure in 1900. She married Leopold van Itallie in 1894, after which she was known as Mien van Itallie-van Embden. By 1911, she was on the board of the VDB, one of two female board members, Betsy Bakker-Nort being the other. In 1915 she was elected on the board of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

On 18 September 1928 she became a member of the House of Representatives for the VDB, taking the seat of Simon van Aalten who had died, and joining Bakker-Nort as the party's second female member of parliament. She maintained her seat after the 1929 general election. She often argued the case for dewaponisation and improvements for women.

Prior to the 1933 general election she decided not to put herself up on the VDB's candidate list. She was disillusioned with parliament's endless finance discussions following the Great Depression, hindering the ability to achieve the reforms she envisioned. She said an agricultural expert should take her place.

During the Second World War she and her husband were imprisoned by the Nazis in concentration camps in Barneveld, Westerbork, and Theresienstadt.

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Important facts

Birth century
Positions held
Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, Member of the States-Provincial of South Holland, Municipal councillor of Leiden
Awards
Order of Orange-Nassau
Also known as
H.W.B. van Itallie van Embden, Mien van Itallie-van Embden

People in Wilhelmina van Embden's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Wilhelmina van Embden's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Wilhelmina van Embden?

Dutch politician (1870-1959)

When was Wilhelmina van Embden born?

Wilhelmina van Embden was born on 22 October 1870 in The Hague.

When did Wilhelmina van Embden die?

Wilhelmina van Embden died on 6 September 1959 in Trogen.

What was Wilhelmina van Embden's occupation?

Wilhelmina van Embden was a politician, women's rights activist and literary scholar.

What nationality was Wilhelmina van Embden?

Wilhelmina van Embden was Dutch.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Wilhelmina van Embden

· Wikidata: Q15879386

· DBpedia: Mien van Itallie-Van Embden

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Wilhelmina van Embden. https://biography.guide/wilhelmina-van-embden/

MLA: "Wilhelmina van Embden." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/wilhelmina-van-embden/.

Chicago: "Wilhelmina van Embden." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/wilhelmina-van-embden/.

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