Emulating inline variables in C++11

In a header-only library, I need to run some initialization code before using any library functionality. At the moment, I have an explicit init() function for this purpose that the user needs to call explicitly.

I would like to avoid forcing the user to remember to call such a function. A partial solution is to embed the init logic in an object constructor, and then store an instance of such object as static member in a class template:

struct initializer {
    initializer()
    {
        // init() logic here.
    }
};

template <typename = void>
struct holder {
    static initializer s_init;
};

template <typename T>
initializer holder<T>::s_init;

The problem with such a solution is that, in order for the s_init member to be actually constructed at runtime, the holder class template needs to be instantiated.

My question then is this: is it enough to define an inline function for the purpose of triggering the instantiation of the holder object? I.e., something like

inline void trigger_instantiation()
{
    auto init = holder<>::s_init;
}

to be included in all the headers of the library?