20 November 2008 - 17H53
Veil joins Académie Française
At age 81, activist Simone Veil has been elected to the Académie Française, the centuries-old body that acts as guardian of the French language.
At the age of 81, Auschwitz survivor and renowned feminist Simone Veil has been elected to the prestigious Academie Francaise, which for centuries has sought to protect the French language.
For decades Veil has been well-known in France as an outspoken voice of the Jewish community and proponent of women's rights.
She was born in Nice in 1927. Her family was sent to Auschwitz during World War II, where most of them perished. At the age of 18, Veil began studying law and preparing for a life in politics. When she became minister of health in the goverment of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1974, Veil set about attacking one of the great taboos of French society: abortion. In 1975, against the will of a large part of her own party, she pushed through a law legalising voluntary abortion.
Recognition of Veil's achievements came in 1979. She was elected the first female president of the European parliament in Strasbourg. She then returned to France to take up various ministerial roles in the 90s. In 1998, Veil was instrumental in pushing for a treaty to establish a constitution for Europe.
Among other accolades, Veil holds an honourary damehood from the British Empire.
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