The members of the European Parliament were directly elected for the first time. The parliament held its first session in Strasbourg on 17 July 1979. Louise Weiss as the "oldest member" presided over the chamber. Simone Veil was elected president.

The Decision and Act on European elections by direct universal suffrage were signed in Brussels on 20 September 1976. Following ratification by all Member States, the Act entered into force on July 1978, and the first elections took place on 7 and 10 June 1979.

Louise Weiss was a journalist and politician. She co-founded the journal “L’Europe Nouvelle” later she created a movement advocating women’s suffrage in France. She became the oldest member of the European Parliament in 1979.

Already a renowned politician in France, where she became minister for health in 1974, Veil was elected member of the European Parliament at the first direct elections in 1979. The new Parliament elected her as its president for a period of two-and-a-half years. She thus became the first president of the directly-elected European Parliament and the first woman president of any EU institution.

40 years ago - First session of the directly elected European Parliament

Simone VEIL, President of the European Parliament

2021 portraits gallery of EP Presidents

Ceremony to honour the memory of Simone Veil, former President of the European Parliament, in presence of representatives of Jewish Associations and Ixelles Authorities

Group photo with Simone VEIL, EP President, and the participants at the Annual ACP meeting in Luxembourg.

Antonio Tajani, attends a solemn funeral ceremony to pay homage to Simone Veil in the courtyard of the Invalides

State funeral for Simone VEIL - Former European Parliament President, Holocaust survivor and women’s rights advocate in Paris

French and EU flags at half-mast at the European Parliament, following the passing away of Simone VEIL, former EP President

EP Plenary session - Homage to Simone VEIL, former EP President (1979-1982)

Stockshots of the hemicycle during plenary session week 27 2017 in Strasbourg - Homage to Simone VEIL, former EP President (1979-1982)

Meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg in January 1985.

Press conference in Strasbourg in January 1984.

Basil de FERRANTI, Christiane SCRIVENER, Jean-Pierre FOURCADE, Simone VEIL

MEPs meet with French Senate member Jean-Pierre FOURCADE

NORD, Hans; WIJSENBEEK, Florus; VEIL, Simone; de VRIES, Gijs M.; LARIVE, Jessica; LOUWES, Hendrik

Dutch liberal MEPs meet with Simone VEIL in December 1988

Press conference in Strasbourg in April 1990

ELDR Meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg

David MARTIN, Eva-Maria QUISTORP, Leo TINDEMANS, Yves GALLAND, Martin BANGEMANN, Gerhard SCHMID, Egon KLEPSCH

Inauguration of the room Willy Brandt in October 1992

Egon KLEPSCH, Jacques DELORS, Simone VEIL, Pierre PFLIMLIN, Lord PLUMB

40th anniversary of the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - Formal sitting

Klaus HANSCH EP President, Enrico VINCI, Shimon SAMUELS, KONOPNICKI, Simone VEIL

European Parliamentary Medal award ceremony for the organizers of the European Union and UNESCO competition, Fifty Years after the Holocaust: Lessons for Europe.

EP photo

Exhibition : j'ai faim dans ma tête

Louise WEISS, Pieter DANKERT, Simone VEIL

Former EP Presidents Louise WEISS, Pieter DANKERT and Simone VEIL in 1982

Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995.

Memoclip: Jacques DELORS and the European Parliament

&lt;p>Roberta METSOLA, EP President, participates to the unveiling of the bust of Simone VEIL, former European Parliament president, in the European Parliament, in Strasbourg.&lt;/p>

Unveiling of the bust of Simone Veil in presence of Roberta METSOLA, EP President

Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Roland RIES, Mayor of Strasbourg, Simone VEIL's sons and the artist, unveil a portait of Simone Veil during a ceremony in Strasbourg.

Unveiling of Simone Veil´s portrait in the presence of Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Roland RIES, Mayor of Strasbourg, Simone VEIL's sons and the artist (rec 11/12)

Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Roland RIES, Mayor of Strasbourg, Pierre-François VEIL and Jean VEIL, sons of Simone VEIL, attend the ceremony of inauguration of Avenue Simone Veil in Strasbourg.

Inauguration of Avenue de la Paix Simone Veil in the presence of Antonio TAJANI, EP President, Roland RIES, Mayor of Strasbourg, Pierre-François VEIL and Jean VEIL, sons of Simone VEIL

On the occasion of&nbsp;his&nbsp;official visit to Paris, Antonio TAJANI, EP President, meets&nbsp;with Valerie PECRESSE, President of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France and unveils of a commemorative plate honouring Simone Veil, in the presence of the family, and addresses to the Regional Assembly.

Official visit by Antonio TAJANI, EP President to Paris: meeting with Valerie PECRESSE, President of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France and unveil of a commemorative plate honouring Simone Veil

In honour of Simone VEIL, former EP President, the French and EU flags are put at half-mast at the European Parliament in Brussels.

French and EU flags at half-mast at the European Parliament in Brussels following the passing away of Simone VEIL, former EP President

In honour of Simone VEIL, former EP President, the French and EU flags are put at half-mast at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

French and EU flags at half-mast at the European Parliament in Strasbourg following the passing away of Simone VEIL, former EP President

Antonio TAJANI, EP President attends ceremony for the funerals of Simone VEIL, former EP President (1979-1982) with Donald TUSK, President of the European Council,&nbsp;in Paris.

Antonio TAJANI, EP President and Donald TUSK, President of the European Council attend the ceremony for the funerals of Simone VEIL, former EP President (1979-1982): extracts from the ceremony in Paris

During the EP plenary session (3-6 July 2017) in Strasbourg, a ceremony in honour of Simone VEIL, former EP President (1979-1982) takes place in the hemicycle. Statements y Antonio TAJANI, EP President, and Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, BE).

Tribute to Simone VEIL, former EP President (1979-1982): extracts from the ceremony

Clip to pay tribute to Simone VEIL, former EP President (1979-1982)

Clip : Homage to Simone VEIL

iAntonio TAJANI, EP President, opens the EP plenary session (3-6 July 2017) in Strasbourg and MEPs make one minute of silence in honour of Simone VEIL, former EP President.

Introductory remarks by Antonio TAJANI, EP President - Minute of silence in honour of Simone VEIL

Simone VEIL is elected as EP President by direct universal suffrage at the first sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 1979 (17-18/07/1979).

First sitting of the European Parliament elected by direct universal suffrage: election of Simone VEIL as EP President

This memoclip illustrates the relations between Simone Veil and the European institutions, from her election as President of the European Parliament in 1979 until the inauguration of the Simone Veil Agora in Brussels in 2011. Simone Veil was the first President of the European Parliament elected by universal suffrage, from 1979 to 1982.

Memoclip: Tribute to Simone VEIL

This memoclip illustrates the signatures of the conventions between European Community and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) (1963-1989): - Yaounde Convention I (20/07/1963) (mute) - Yaounde Convention II (29/07/1969) (mute) - Lome Convention I (28/02/1975) (mute) - Lome Convention II (31/10/1979) (mute) - Lome Convention III (08/12/1984) - Lome Convention IV (15/12/1989)

Memoclip: The Conventions between European Community and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) (1963-1989)

Address by HH Pope Francis to the European Parliament in formal sitting.

(7) Visit of HH Pope Francis to the European Parliament: address to the European Parliament in formal sitting (11:22 - 11:30)

Simone Veil, former European Parliament President, passed away on 30 June 2017. She was a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps and central figure of feminism in Europe. In 1979 she became the first President of the directly elected European Parliament.

The story of the EP by the its President: Simone VEIL (1979 -1982) - 4/3 version

The story of the EP by the its President: Simone VEIL (1979 -1982) - 16/9 version

Berlin - 9 November 1989: crowd of Berliners on the wall, Strasbourg - 22/11/1989: formal sitting with Helmut KOHL, German Chancellor and François MITTERRAND, President of the French Republic, Strasbourg - 16/05/1990: Visit by Lothar DE MAIZIERE Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic to the EP, Brussels - 28/06/1990: Meeting of the Temporary Committee on East Germany chaired by Simone VEIL, Strasbourg - 08/10/1990: First meeting of the European Parliament after the reunification of Germany.

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