Simone Veil and the first European universal suffrage
Nadine Vasseur
Journalist and writer
The European Parliament ’ s first elections by universal suffrage in 1979 marked the beginning of a new chapter in Europe ’ s history . The election of Simone Veil as the first European Parliament President on 17 July 1979 was one of the most powerfully symbolic moments of this new period .
French President Valéry Giscard d ’ Estaing grasped the significance of her election from very early on . As Simone Veil put it , ‘ Giscard has always loved symbols that capture people ’ s imagination . For a former deportee to become the first President of the new European Parliament seemed to him to augur well for the future ’ 1 .
Simone Veil was a Jewish woman who survived Auschwitz . Most of her family was exterminated by the Nazis . Following her entry
1 . S . Veil , A Life , 2007 , p . 181 , translated by Tamsin Black .
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