Born into a well-known Luxembourg family, Annette Lacroix could have been content with a comfortable existence. Her grandfather was Léandre Lacroix, a lawyer, founding member of the Banque Générale du Luxembourg, deputy and mayor of the City of Luxembourg (1914-1918). However, the young woman, a lover of social justice, chose a more particular path at the time.
During the Nazi occupation, Annette Lacroix refused to join the Hitler Youth and was expelled from school. She worked for three years in a nursery in Kirchberg. Later she resumed her studies in Luxembourg and Paris to become a lawyer.
Annette Lacroix married Georges Schwall, a justice of the peace in Diekirch in 1955. She joined the Luxembourg women's rights movement and, together with other women lawyers, drafted bills for the emancipation of women, who were treated as incompetent until 1972. These texts on the "rights and duties of spouses" and "matrimonial regimes" were submitted to the Chamber by the only female deputy at the time, Astrid Lulling, and supported by the deputies J.P. Glesener, Adrien van Kauvenberghe, Emile Schaus and Gaston Thorn.
A woman of character, Annette Schwall-Lacroix also showed a strong commitment to the most disadvantaged people. As a member of the board of directors of the Red Cross from 1988, she plays a very active role. She is involved in many other associations such as the Luxembourg Federation of University Women, the National Council of Women of Luxembourg, the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe and the committee of the Luxembourg Association for the United Nations. For a long time, the lawyer was president of the Cercle des amis de Colpach.
Her great reputation, her progressive ideas and her commitment earned her the first seat offered to a woman in the Council of State in 1975. She was a lawyer for 24 years. But the fight for equal rights for women and men remains her main concern. Annette Schwall-Lacroix is particularly committed to equal pay.
The great lady is captivating because of her modesty and nobility of heart. She is not interested in appearing in the front row, but she wants to achieve results from her work. Annette Schwall-Lacroix passed away on 17 March 2013.
Sources:
● Tageblatt Vorkämpferin für Frauenrechte 2013
● Handbook on the History of European Banks edited by Manfred Pohl , Edward Elgar Publishing, 1994
● Lëtzebuerger Land -16.07.1999