Marie-Madeleine Dienesch

Marie-Madeleine Dienesch (1914–1998) was a French politician who was a member of the National Assembly of France and a member of the European Parliament over a period of 35 years.

Born in Cairo, Egypt, Dienesch moved to France at a young age, and attended a girls' college in Neuilly-sur-Seine before graduating from the University of Paris.

Dienesch was elected to the French Fourth Republic parliament out of Côtes-d'Armor's 3rd constituency in November 1945, and she served in that position through 1981.

[1] She supported the Presidency of Charles de Gaulle en route to the founding of the Fifth French Republic in 1958, and as one of the few women actively in politics through the Fourth Republic, she became a regional leader for the Popular Republican Movement.

[2] In 1968, she became the second female government minister in France after Nafissa Sid Cara when she was named State Secretary for National Education, a position that allowed her to sit in on cabinet meetings.