Félicie Erpelding-Schlesser

Erpelding-Schlesser was born on 27 May 1883 in Oberfeulen, Luxembourg.^[1] Her parents were schoolteacher Peter Schlesser and his wife Margaretha Schlesser (née Reiter).^[2]

In 1905, Erpelding-Schlesser married the locomotive driver François Erpelding [lb] in Hollerich. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1920 to 1940, firstly for the Kartell Party and secondly for the Workers' Party (the forerunner of Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party^[2]). They had three children.^[1]

On 24 September 1921, Erpelding-Schlesser became the first female member of the municipal council of Ettelbrück.^[3] She was re-elected in 1924^[2] and was also elected the vice-president of the Association of Municipal Councillors of the Workers' Party.^[1] She lost her seat in the 1928 elections.^[2]

Erpelding-Schlesser was widowed when her husband died on 2 February 1961.^[2] She died on 6 January 1970 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.^[1] They were both buried in Oberfeulen.^[2]

A street in Ettelbrück has been named in her honour in 2015.^[2][4]

To celebrate the occasion of the centenary of universal suffrage, a bronze sculpture of Erpelding-Schlesser exercising her right to vote was unveiled in Ettelbruck in 2021. The statue was made by Nadine Zangarini and was commissioned by the National Council of Women in Luxembourg.^[2]