Siw Stai
| Siw Stai | |
|---|---|
| Ambassador of the Order of the Holy Lakes to the Confoederatio Aemilia | |
| In office 1728–1737 | |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Catherine Wythe |
| Ambassador of the Order of the Holy Lakes to the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen | |
| In office 1719–1722 | |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Born | 1645 Sårensby,  Normark
|
| Died | 1742 Zeebrugge,  Aemilian Alrig
|
| Citizenship |  Order of the Holy Lakes (1693–1742) Normark (1703–1737) Elwynn (1678–1703) Natopia (1645–1678)
|
| Alma mater | University of Konungsheim |
| Profession | Politician and diplomat |
Siw Stai, nicknamed Lady Si, was a Norse–Hurmu politician and diplomat. Member of the Nordisketing (1703–1707), ambassador of the Order of the Holy Lakes to Sankt Ludwigshafen (1719–1722) and Aemilia (1728–1737).
Siw Stai grew up Sårensby, Normark. Having been in a long-time relationship with Stina Einhorn since 1685, she and Stina moved to Hurmu in 1693 to get married (as same-sex marriage was not accepted in Normark). Despite this, the couple stayed close with Normark, returning regularly. Siw Stai was elected to the Nordisketing in 1703 for the Einhorn Society, but did not stand for re-election in 1707, standing instead for election for the Senate of the Lakes the same year for the Einhornist List. She was not elected, as she was listed number 17 out of 18, and the Einhornist List secured 1 seat. Instead, she took up work in the foreign service of the Order of the Holy Lakes.
In 1719, the Senate of the Lakes appointed her Hurmu's ambassador to Sankt Ludwigshafen. She arrived, along with her wife, in Sankt Ludwigshafen during the Hurmu state visit to Sankt Ludwigshafen and stayed when the rest of the delegation travelled back to Hurmu. After the collapse of the Sankt Ludwigshafen, she was recalled back to Huyenkula, and then appointed as ambassador to Aemilia in 1728. She took her role as ambassador seriously, and worked long hours every day. By 1737, Stina convinced Siw, then aged 92, to retire for sake of her health. Siw listened to her wife, and resigned. As she retired as ambassador to the Confoederatio Aemilia, a successor state to Sankt Ludwigshafen, many inhabitants of Aemilia sent her letters asking her not to leave. While still retiring, she promised not to leave Aemilia and settled in Zeebrugge in Aemilian Alrig to remain with the people that loved her so much. She and Stina hoped to live out the rest of their lives there in peace and happiness.
She died in Zeebrugge on 14.I.1742, aged 96. According to her will, she wished to be cremated according to the rites of the Hurmu religion and have her ashes buried in a grave in Zeebrugge. A funeral was held in Zeebrugge on 24.I.1742.
