Simone Veil, first European Parliament President, dies at 89

Simone Veil, first European Parliament President, dies at 89

Holocaust survivor and women’s rights advocate, she became the elected president of the European Parliament in 1979.

By Connor Murphy
6/30/17

Former European Parliament President Simone Veil died on Friday at the age of 89.

A Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, Veil was a strong advocate for European unity and became the first directly elected president of the European Parliament in 1979.

She was also a champion for women’s rights in France and across Europe. As health minister under President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1974, Veil legalized abortion in France, making it the first mainly Roman Catholic country to do so.

Continued at source: Politico: http://www.politico.eu/article/simone-veil-first-european-parliament-president-dies-at-89/