[Brussels, 8 February 2013] Fausta Deshormes La Valle passed away on 4 February and for all of us who knew her, it is a moment of great sorrow and a great loss. She left us with a message of peace and hope by writing: “Dear friends, I greet you, life is beautiful.”
A journalist by profession, Fausta Deshormes entered the European Commission’s Information services in 1961. Serving the cause of women, she was the founding spirit behind numerous publications “Women of Europe”, and for 15 years, she proved her constant commitment to women’s issues. She became head of the European Commission’s Women’s Information Service in 1977 until her retirement in 1992.
Fausta Deshormes moved beyond her institutional role as she was always interested in promoting networks and communication between the associations and women’s movements in Member States and was behind the initiative and one of the founders of the European Women’s Lobby.
“My dream today, and my wish, is that women participate fully in the construction of Europe by entering political life in large numbers and on equal terms … “, said Fausta Deshormes in a farewell to her colleagues and friends from the European institutions and representatives of women’s organisations, on her retirement from the Women’s Information Service. As the European Women’s Lobby, we are continuing in this direction, Fausta to make your dream come true.
