Vellay Cleews

French gay activist, president of the Paris chapter of Act-Up 1992 - 1994. AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international direct action advocacy group working to impact the lives of people with AIDS (PWAs) and the AIDS pandemic to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the disease by mitigating loss of health and lives. Vellay came from a working class background, was trained as a patisseur (pastry chef), worked in a dog Kennel, then as an interviewer for IPSOS in market research. He discovered that he was HIV seropositive in the late 1980s. He was involved in starting Act-Up Paris in 1989. He was active in the gay liberation movement and in groups fighting AIDS. He died on 18 October 1994. More than 500 activists and friends accompanied his coffin to the crematory of Père Lachaise in Paris, on 26 October 1994. Link to Wikipedia biography (French) Read less