Astrid Bergegren, born in 1909, was a Swedish politician who played a pioneering role in the struggle for the abolition of capital punishment in Europe. She was an active member of the Swedish parliament (1957-1973), and a member to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1966-1974).
As a member of the Assembly, Astrid Bergegren worked tirelessly for the abolishment of the death penalty. When urging the Council of Europe member states to end the use of the death penalty once and for all, Astrid Bergegren, in a motion to the Consultative Assembly, argued that capital punishment ‘must now be seen to be inhuman and degrading within the meaning of article 3 of the European Convention.’ Her work later led to the drafting of the Sixth Protocol to the European Convention, followed in May 2002 by Protocol No. 13 on abolition in all circumstances. The Council of Europe has made abolition of the death penalty a precondition for accession. No executions have been carried out in any of the Organisation's 46 Member States since 1997.
Astrid Bergegren was a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party and held the function of chairperson of the board of the Social Democrats' women's district in Östergötland county. She was also secretary of the party's board in Östergötland county. From 1968 to 1974, Bergegren was a member of the Social Democrats' party board. Astrid Bergegren died in 2002. She was the daughter of the antiquarian bookseller Sven Bergegren and Edit Hultgren.
The project “75 women in 75 years of Council of Europe history” is organised by the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe with the Council of Europe and the Permanent Representations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
