Simone Veil

Simone Veil, born on July thirteenth, nineteen twenty-seven, was a remarkable French politician, magistrate, lawyer, author, and judge. A Holocaust survivor, she was deported as a teenager to the notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau and later to Bergen-Belsen. These harrowing experiences shaped her lifelong commitment to advocating for human dignity and European reconciliation.

As France's Minister of Health, Veil made significant strides in championing women's rights, most notably through the landmark legislation in nineteen seventy-five that legalized abortion, known as the Veil Act. This pivotal law not only transformed women's healthcare in France but also established her as a leading figure in the fight for gender equality.

In nineteen seventy-nine, Veil made history by becoming the first woman elected as President of the European Parliament, a role that underscored her dedication to European integration as a means of ensuring peace. Her influence extended beyond politics; she served on France’s Constitutional Council from nineteen ninety-eight to two thousand seven, and as president of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, she played a crucial role in Holocaust remembrance and education.

Veil's contributions were recognized both nationally and internationally. In two thousand eight, she was elected to the Académie Française, and in two thousand twelve, she received the grand cross of the Légion d’honneur. Following her passing in two thousand seventeen, she and her husband, Antoine Veil, were interred at the Panthéon in July two thousand eighteen, during a state ceremony led by President Emmanuel Macron.