Léonie de Waha

Life & Legacy

Léonie Marie Laurence de Chestret de Haneffe, generally known as Léonie de Waha, (1836–1926) was a French-speaking Belgian feminist, philanthropist, educator and Walloon activist. She is recognised for her support of education for girls and young women and for establishing schools and libraries. In 1868, she founded the Institut supérieur libre de demoiselles, a girls' high school, in Liège, now known as the Athénée Léonie de Waha. As a result of her interest in promoting women's rights, in 1912 she established the Union des femmes de Wallonie which she headed until she died in 1926.