France 2 Euro 2018 Simone Veil

Simone Veil (1927-2017) was a prominent French Politician. Her Maiden name was Jacob and as a teenager she survived Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen where her parents and brother were murdered. Simone Veil was Minister of Healthcare in the 1970s and under her leadership abortion was legalized in France in 1975. After her ministry, she became the first female president of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1983. After that she remained a member of the European Parliament for 10 years, where she was considered an advocate for far-reaching cooperation in Europe. In her later years she devoted herself to the fact that the Holocaust must not be forgotten. On July 1, 2018 she was re-buried, together with her deceased husband who died a few years before her, in the Panthéon in Paris. This is very special, because there are only 5 women buried in the Panthéon. To commemorate Simone Veil, France has issued a special 2 Euro coin. On the coin is a portrait of Simone Veil. Her Auschwitz deportation registration number 78651 can be seen on her neck. On the background of the coin the banks of seats of the European Parliament are depicted. The year 1975, the year that abortion was legalized in France, is also shown. Furthermore, there is the year 2018 and the letters RF, the abbreviation of the Republic of France. On the upper left side of the coin is her name Simone Veil together with her year of birth 1927 and year of death 2017. In the outer ring of the coin are the 12 stars of Europe where it is striking that the hair of Simone Veil and a part of the seating of the European Parliament extend into the outer ring of the coin.