Veil, Simone

Veil, Simone, 1927–, French politician. Interned in Nazi concentration camps during World War II because she was Jewish, she became a lawyer and government official. She served (1974–79) as minister of health under French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, securing the passage of a liberalized abortion law in 1974. Elected to the European Parliament in 1979, 1984, and 1989, she served (1979–82) as its first popularly elected president. From 1993 to 1995 she was French housing and urban and social affairs minister, and in 1998 she was appointed to the French Constitutional Council.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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