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Former French Minister of Health and past President of the European Parliament, Simone Veil, 82, was inaugurated as only the sixth female member of the Académie française in history. Founded in 1635 by the Cardinal Richelieu, the Académie consists of 40 members, known as the "Immortals," whose task is to act as the official authority on the French language. New members are elected by Académie members and hold their office for life. She has been assigned Seat #13 in the Académie, which was originally held by Jean Racine, one of the most important dramatists in both French and Western history. There have been 711 members of the Académie since it was founded, and although 14 women have been candidates since 1874, the first woman elected to the body was the writer Marguerite Yourcenar in 1980.

Madame Veil is one of France's most venerable politicians. A survivor of both Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen, she bears the number 78651 tattooed on her arm. Following her liberation from the concentration camp, she received her law degree from the presitigious l'Institut de Sciences Politiques in Paris. From 1974 to 1979, she served as the Minister of Health in the governments of Jacques Chirac and Raymond Barre. In this capacity, Veil made history by fighting for two laws that were key for women's health: making access to prescription contraceptives easier in 1974 and legalizing abortion in 1975. In 1979, she was elected to the European Parliament, and during her first session, she was elected its President—the first woman to hold that position. After leaving the European Parliament in 1982, Mme. Veil has served as an Honorary President for La Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah; as an active member of government committees on public health, the environment, and foreign affairs; and as an appointee to the Constitutional Council for Europe.

During the inauguration ceremony or enthronement, writer and Académie member Jean d'Ormesson paid homage to his new colleague, saying, "Like the majority of French people, we love you, Madame. Welcome to the Chair of Racine, who spoke so well of love." In accepting her new charge and wearing the traditional green robe redesigned by Karl Lagerfeld, Madame Veil said, "Though the Académie française, since its birth, has always diversified its membership... it remains in my eyes the temple of the French language." She continued, "Having myself no literary pretensions, all the while being cognizant that the French language remains the major pillar of our identity, I remain surprised and amazed that you have invited me to share in your struggle." Her enthronement was witnessed by President Nicolas Sarkozy as well as former French presidents Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac. Outside the Académie headquarters at the L'Institut de France in Paris (left), several hundred anti-abortion protesters demonstrated against this historic elevation of a French hero.