Edmond Simeoni (6 August 1934 – 14 December 2018) was a Corsican doctor, politician and
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
. He was the brother of
Max Simeoni,
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(MEP) from 1989 to 1994 and father of
Gilles Simeoni
Gilles Simeoni (, ; born 20 April 1967) is a lawyer in France and a politician. He was mayor of Bastia from 2014 to 2016 and has been president of the executive council of Corsica since 2015. Notably, Simeoni served as the Corsican nationalist ...
.
Simeoni, together with his brother Max, were the leaders of the Aleria siege, which started the modern Corsican nationalism.
Biography
Simeoni was born 6 August 1934 in
Corte, Corsica. His father was Ferdinand Simeoni, who was the mayor of Lozzi. He grew up in Francardu and graduated at the Bastia High School. He studied medicine and specialized in
gastroenterology
Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...
.
Simeoni relocated in Bastia and practiced medicine there for several years. He died on 14 December 2018 at Ajaccio, Corsica. Thousands of Corsicans attended his funeral and a tribute that lasted for three days. At the time of his death, he was considered the most prominent Corsican political figure in the past 50 years.
Activism
Edmond and Max Simeoni participated in the elections during the 1960s without much success. They then founded the Action Regionaliste Corse in 1967.
The organization was banned in 1973 but was revived as the ''Azzione per a Rinascita Corsa'' (Action for a Reborn Corsica, ARC).
Two years later, the Simeoni brothers led a group of 50 ARC militants and took over a French wine depot in Aleria.
Books
* 1975: ''Le Piège d’Aleria'', édition Lattes
* 1985: ''La Volonté d’être'', éditions Albiana
* 2003: ''Un combat pour la Corse'', éditions Le Cherche Midi – Entretien avec Pierre Dottelonde
* 2008: ''Lettre aux femmes corses'', éditions DCL – stamparia Sammarcelli
Price
* Coppieters 2018
« La Fondation Coppieters honore Edmond Simeoni : Une vie consacrée à la paix »
sur ''Corse Net Infos'', 24 November 2018
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simeoni, Edmond
1934 births
2018 deaths
People from Haute-Corse
Corsican politicians
Corsican nationalists
Members of the Corsican Assembly