Clara Zetkin

Clara Zetkin (1857–1933) was a German Marxist, women’s rights activist, and peace campaigner. Trained as an elementary school teacher, she became involved in the socialist workers’ movement and went into exile in Paris as a result of the Anti-Socialist Laws. She later edited a women’s magazine in Germany and headed the SPD’s women’s office. After 1917, she belonged to the USPD; in 1918, she co-founded the KPD and the Communist Women’s International, serving as its chair. Zetkin was a member of the Reichstag and served as its senior president. She is also regarded as a co-founder of International Women’s Day.