| Antonio Segni | |
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| In office 11 May 1962 – 6 December 1964 |
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| Prime Minister | Amintore Fanfani Giovanni Leone Aldo Moro |
| Preceded by | Giovanni Gronchi |
| Succeeded by | Cesare Merzagora acting Giuseppe Saragat |
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50th and 47th
President of the Council of Ministers of Italy |
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| In office 15 February 1959 – 23 March 1960 |
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| President | Giovanni Gronchi |
| Preceded by | Amintore Fanfani |
| Succeeded by | Fernando Tambroni |
| In office 6 July 1955 – 15 May 1957 |
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| President | Giovanni Gronchi |
| Preceded by | Mario Scelba |
| Succeeded by | Adone Zoli |
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| In office 25 March 1960 – 7 May 1962 |
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| Prime Minister | Fernando Tambroni Amintore Fanfani |
| Preceded by | Giuseppe Pella |
| Succeeded by | Amintore Fanfani |
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| In office 15 February 1959 – 23 March 1960 |
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| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Fernando Tambroni |
| Succeeded by | Giuseppe Spataro |
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| In office 1 July 1958 – 15 February 1959 |
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| Prime Minister | Amintore Fanfani |
| Preceded by | Paolo Emilio Taviani |
| Succeeded by | Giulio Andreotti |
| In office 17 August 1953 – 12 January 1954 |
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| Prime Minister | Giuseppe Pella |
| Preceded by | Giovanni Bettiol |
| Succeeded by | Egidio Tosato |
| In office 26 July 1951 – 7 July 1953 |
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| Prime Minister | Alcide De Gasperi |
| Preceded by | Guido Gonnella |
| Succeeded by | Giovanni Bettiol |
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| Born | 2 February 1891 Sassari, Italy |
| Died | 1 December 1972 (aged 81) Rome, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Political party | Christian Democracy |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Carta Camprino |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Antonio Segni (2 February 1891 – 1 December 1972) was an Italian politician who was twice Prime Minister of Italy (1955-1957, 1959-1960), and the President of the Italian Republic from 1962 to 1964. Adhering to the centrist Christian Democratic party (Italian: Democrazia Cristiana – DC), he was the first Sardinian ever to become Prime Minister of Italy.
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Biography
The son of a Sardinian landowning family, born in Sassari, Sardinia, he studied to become a lawyer with a degree in agricultural and commercial law. Segni joined the Italian People's Party (Italian: Partito Popolare Italiano) – the predecessor of the Christian Democratic Party – in 1919. In 1924 he was a member of the party’s national council, until all political organizations were dissolved by Benito Mussolini two years later in 1926. For the next 17 years Segni taught Agrarian Law for at the Universities of Pavia, Perugia, and Cagliari; he was also rector of Sassari University.
In 1943 Segni was one of the organizers of the new Christian Democratic Party in Sardinia. He held ministerial positions in many Christian Democrat governments from 1944 onward, despite his frail physique. Time Magazine once quoted a friend: "He is like the Colosseum; he looks like a ruin but he'll be around for a long time."[1] In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly after World War II and then to parliament in 1948.
In Government
Segni made his reputation as Minister of Agriculture (1946-1951) under Alcide de Gasperi. He favoured land reform legislation and ordered the expropriation of most of his own estate in Sardinia.[2] He became known as a “white Bolshevik” for his introduction of agrarian reform.
He became Prime Minister in 1955, succeeding Mario Scelba. During Segni’s government the treaties instituting the European Economic Community (EEC) were signed on 25 March 1957, and Italy co-founded the community.
In March 1959, he became Prime Minister again, succeeding Amintore Fanfani, in whose government he had been Minister of Defense.[3]
President
Segni was elected President of the Italian Republic on 6 May 1962 (854 to 443 votes).[1] He suffered a serious cerebral hemorrhage while working at the presidential palace on 7 August 1964. At the time he was 73 years old and the first prognosis were not positive. He only partially recovered, and he retired from office on 6 December 1964. In the interim, the President of the Senate Cesare Merzagora served as acting president.
Politically, Segni was a moderate conservative opposed to "opening to the centre-left" enabling coalition governments between the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and the Christian Democrats. Segni was later accused of having tried to instigate a coup d'état (known as Piano Solo) along with General Giovanni De Lorenzo during his presidency to frustrate the opening to the left.[4]
Segni was also a professor of law at University of Sassari. Straightforward, witty and courteous, Segni was more at ease in the classroom or the law court than in the back rooms of Italian politics.[2] He died on 1 December 1972, in Rome. The frail, often ailing Segni, was affectionately called malato di ferro—"the invalid with the iron constitution".[5]
Segni's son, Mariotto Segni, is also a prominent Italian politician.
References
- ^ a b Symbol of the Nation, Time Magazine, 18 May 1962
- ^ a b New Man on the Job, Time Magazine, 18 July 1955
- ^ Right Turn, Time Magazine, 2 March 1959
- ^ Marcus, Paranoia Within Reason, pp. 207-08
- ^ Malato di Ferro, Time Magazine, 2 October 1964
- Marcus, George E. (1999). ‘’Paranoia Within Reason: A Casebook on Conspiracy as Explanation’’, Chicago: University of Chicago Press ISBN 0226504573
External links
- President Antonio Segni, Italian Chamber of Deputies
- Political factors related to the illness of Italian President Antonio Segni, declassified CIA document dated 14 August 1964
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