Simone Veil
A Holocaust survivor, feminist icon and campaigner against anti-Semitism, Simone Veil (1927-2017) was a French politician of Jewish descent. She spent her life fighting for women’s rights. In 1974, as Minister of Health, she managed to push through the ‘Veil Law’, legalising abortion. Her concentration camp experience turned her into a passionate advocate of European unification. She was the first woman elected the President of the European Parliament in 1979.
Emmanuel Macron
The eighth President of the Fifth Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron led the newly established political movement, ‘En Marche!’ to victory in the 2017 presidential elections. A former student of philosophy, passionate about literature and culture, graduated from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in 2004. Macron has made the creation of a ‘clear, ambitious’ roadmap for the future of Europe a cornerstone of his presidency. He received the Charlemagne Prize in recognition of his vision of a new Europe in May 2018.
Albert Einstein
An all-time great scientist with the wit to match, German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) developed elemental theories – Special and General Relativity – that transformed views on the nature of space-time. Over 100 years later, the gravitational waves caused by the collision of two neutron stars reached Earth and confirmed his predictions.
Leonardo da Vinci
Often described as the greatest mind the world has produced, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian Renaissance painter, scientist and inventor. His achievements laid the ground for the development of innovations seen by his contemporaries as impossible, such as mechanical engines, cranes, parachutes, helicopters, and bicycles.