UNFORGETTABLE Simone Veil

Simone VEIL holds a such special place in the hearts of the French that the painting imposed itself on the artist.

Born Jacob, she was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician who served as Health Minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament (the first woman to hold that office).

As health minister, she is best remembered for advancing women's rights in France, in particular for the 1975 law that legalized abortion: The artist inserted into the canvas part of the very moving speech delivered in front of Parliament.

She was also a member of the Constitutional Council, France’s highest legal authority.

As Holocaust survivor of both Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen, she was a firm believer in European integration as a way of guaranteeing peace. She served as president of the 'Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah".

Among many honours, she was elected to the Académie Française and received the grand cross of the Légion d’honneur, the highest class of the highest French order of merit.

Simone Veil was buried at the Panthéon and her eulogy was given by President Emmanuel Macron. She is Unforgettable for french people.

Acrylic painting on canvas, with collage and high gloss varnish.