Antoine Veil

Antoine Victor Veil (, 28 August 1926 – 12 April 2013) was a French entrepreneur, politician, high-ranking civil servant, and the husband of Simone Veil.

Biography

Early years Veil was born on 28 August 1926 in Blâmont, Meurthe-et-Moselle, to André Veil (1889-1966), an industrialist and cotton fabric manufacturer, and Alice Léon (1898-1985), a housewife.

Of Lorraine Jewish origin, he ‘narrowly escaped deportation’. He and his family fled to Switzerland during World War II.

Professional career Veil joined the cabinet of minister Pierre-Henri Teitgen in 1947 and the cabinet of Alain Poher in 1948. After graduating from the ENA in 1955, he joined the corps of finance inspectors and continued his career in various ministerial cabinets: he became chief of staff to Joseph Fontanet, Secretary of State for Industry and Trade, and then Minister for Public Health. From 1964 to 1968, he was General Delegate of the Central Committee of French Shipowners, now named Armateurs de France. In 1969, he was appointed Deputy Managing Director of the Compagnie des Chargeurs réunis.

He was elected to the Council of Paris in 1971 and re-elected in 1977 and 1983, serving until 1989, and served on the Regional Council of Île-de-France from 1976 to 1986.

When Simone Veil introduced the 1975 Veil Act that decriminalized abortion, Antoine Veil, who served as treasurer of the Centre of Social Democrats, was privately involved in the drafting process and made his network of centrist politicians available to his wife to get it through parliament. As his wife gained national and European political prominence, he found it difficult to be seen as little more than her husband, at a time when the tendency was for couples in which one member was involved in politics to be in the opposite situation.

From 1982 to 1985, Veil was the CEO of the firearm manufacturer Manurhin.

In 1983, Veil and his wife founded the Club Vauban, a think-tank aimed at overcoming political divisions, with meetings held in their apartment on the in Paris.

In 1989, he founded a consulting firm, AV Consultants.

Veil was appointed CEO of Orlyval in April 1992. Faced with the company's difficulties, he negotiated a restructuring plan that led to the concession being taken over by RATP a few months later.

Death and tribute Following the death of Simone on 30 June 2017, President Emmanuel Macron announced on 5 July that she would be admitted to the Panthéon during a state funeral. Antoine Veil was admitted with her in his capacity as her husband. He is the second spouse to enter the Panthéon in this capacity, after Sophie Berthelot. The ceremony took place on 1 July 2018.