Born Nov. 26, 1910, in Lille. Figure in the French and international women’s movements. Wife of M. Thorez.

A textile worker by trade, Thorez-Vermeersch joined the French Communist Party (FCP) in 1933. She was one of the founders and leaders of the Union of French Women, which was established in 1944. She helped found the Women’s International Democratic Federation in 1945 and was its vice-president from 1946 to 1950. Thorez-Vermeersch was a deputy in the National Assembly of France from 1945 to 1958 and a senator from 1959 to 1968. She was a member of the Central Committee of the FCP from 1947 to 1968, a candidate member of the Politburo from 1950 to 1953, and a member of the Politburo from 1953 to 1968.