Oct 28 2011
Simone Veil
The 1st President of the European Parliament & Former French Minister, Holocaust Survivor
Simone Veil is arguably the one person most responsible for advancing women’s legal rights in France. She served as Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France. Very few figures in French politics enjoy the support of people from all political spectrums. Yet this is certainly the case with Simone Veil, a woman with an unquestionable moral aura. Beyond her political commitment, Simone Veil’s career path is highly symbolic of the complexity of post-war French history.
In 2005 she was awarded with the Prince of Asturias Award in International Cooperation
Having obtained her baccalauréat in 1943 before being deported, Simone Veil began the study of law and political science at Sciences Po. A survivor from the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp where she lost part of her family, she is the Honorary President of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in the 1979 European election. In its first session, the new Parliament elected Veil as its President, which she served as until 1982. She was elected to the Académie française in 2008. She has received honours from the governments and organizations of France, the Ivory Coast, Spain, Morocco, Germany, Greece, Venezuela, Italy, Belgium, Israel and the United States.[/expand]
In France, throughout Europe, as well as the rest of the world, Madame Simone Veil is acknowledged as one of the world’s most courageous, powerful and influential people, admired for her political and personal courage. She owes her popularity to her undeterred resolve, in particular when faced with the horror of the Nazi deportation camps. She has yet again taken up a new challenge: ensuring that the memory of the past and the duty to remember don’t hamper her faith in the future. Her career inspires awe at the extent of her contributions.[/expand]
Simone Veil is a remarkable woman who has seemed to be “inhabited by the absolute”. Her personal courage served as an example for a country that needed to regain faith in itself and her presentations are unforgettable and very powerful. Her political, legislative and social power is real and honoured. She is remarkable for the openness, modesty and humility with which she fields questions and ponders the future of women in France, in Europe and in the world.[/expand]
Topics
A Vision of the Future
Womens’ Rights
Immigration
Remembrance and Beyond
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