Simone Veil (1927–2017)
Born 1927 CE, died 2017 CE.
Simone Veil (French: [simɔn vɛj] ; née Simone Annie Jacob; 13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017) was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician. Deported as a teenager to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later Bergen-Belsen, she became a prominent advocate for human dignity and European reconciliation. As minister of health, she championed women's rights and is best remembered for the landmark 1975 law legalising abortion, known as the Veil Act (French: Loi Veil). In 1979, Veil became the first woman elected President of the European Parliament, symbolising both her stature and her commitment to European integration as a guarantee of peace. She later served on France’s Constitutional Council (1998–2007), the country’s highest legal authority, and as president of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, where she contributed to Holocaust remembrance and education. Honoured nationally and internationally, she was elected to the Académie Française in 2008, received the grand cross of the Légion d’honneur in 2012, and was awarded numerous doctorates honoris causa abroad.
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