Christiane Reimann(6 MAY 1888 – 12 APRIL 1979)

Christiane Reimann

Christiane Elisabeth Reimann was the first Danish nurse with a graduate degree in nursing and the first full-time Executive Secretary of the International Council of Nurses (ICN).

Christiane believed in the tremendous potential of nursing and ICN. She headed the reconstruction of ICN after the First World War, spending a large part of her own personal fortune to reach her goal. Many key ICN programmes were initiated by her, including the creation of ICN’s official journal, the International Nursing Review.

On her death, she bequeathed a considerable fortune to a foundation to support the presentation of an international nursing award at future ICN congresses. The Christiane Reimann Prize, also known as the Nobel Prize in nursing, was awarded for the first time in 1985. The prize is awarded every four years to one or more Registered Nurses (first level), who have made a significant impact on the nursing profession internationally, or through the nursing profession for the benefit of humanity.

“Nurses, above all other things, need to be united. ”

and midwives

Celebrating historical nurses

Photo courtesy of International Council of Nurses | Authorised by B.Holmes. General Secretary, NSWNMA