Simone Veil - Definition and Overview

Simone Veil should not be confused with Simone Weil, a French philosopher.

Simone Veil (born July 13, 1927) is a French lawyer and politician.

She is currently a member of the French Constitutional Council.

She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

A Jew, she was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where she spent 13 months.

From 1974 to 1979 she was Minister of Health in the governments of prime ministers Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre. Veil was the first woman cabinet minister in French history. She is remembered for pushing forward laws:

• making access to contraception easier (December 4, 1974) - the sale of contraceptives such as the contraceptive pill had been made legal in 1967;
• legalizing abortion (January 17, 1975), her hardest political fight, and the one for which she is best-known.

• She also served as President of the European Parliament after the parliament was directly elected for the first time in 1979.

• After many years in the European Parliament she returned to French government from 1993-1995 when she was Minister of State for Social Affairs, Health and Towns during the Premiership of Edouard Balladur.