The 1962 Italian presidential election was held in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
on 2–6 May 1962.
Only members of
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and regional delegates were entitled to vote, most of these electors having been elected in the
1958 general election. As
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
of the
Italian Republic
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that
Italian politics
The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly was electe ...
comply with the
Italian Constitution
The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...
, in the framework of a
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
.
It was the first time the official candidate of the
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
party was elected President of the Italian Republic.
Procedure
In accordance with the
Italian Constitution
The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...
, the election was held in the form of a secret ballot, with the Senators and the Deputies entitled to vote. The election was held in the
Palazzo Montecitorio
The Palazzo Montecitorio () is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament.
History
The palace's name derives from the slight hill on which it is built, which was claimed to be the ''Mons ...
, home of the
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
, with the capacity of the building expanded for the purpose. The first three ballots required a two-thirds majority of the 854 voters in order to elect a president, or 570 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority was required for candidates to be elected, or 428 votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years.
The election was presided over by the
President of the Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber of Deputies may refer to:
* List of presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
* List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia
* President of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil)
* President of the Chamber of Dep ...
Giovanni Leone
Giovanni Leone (; 3 November 1908 – 9 November 2001) was an Italian politician, jurist, and university professor. A founding member of the Christian Democracy (DC), Leone served as the President of Italy from December 1971 until June 1978. H ...
, who proceeded to the public counting of the votes, and by the
President of the Senate
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
Cesare Merzagora
Cesare Merzagora (9 November 1898 – 1 May 1991) was an Italian politician from Milan.
Biography
Merzagora was born in Milan on November 9, 1898.
Between 1947 and 1949 Merzagora would serve as Italy's Minister of Foreign Trade. He was Pres ...
.
Proposed nominees
*
Antonio Segni
Antonio Segni (; 2 February 1891 – 1 December 1972) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the president of Italy from May 1962 to December 1964 and the prime minister of Italy in two distinct terms between 1955 and 1960.
A memb ...
, proposed by
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
, supported by
Aldo Moro
Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July ...
;
*
Umberto Terracini
Umberto Elia Terracini (Genoa, 27 July 1895 – Rome, 6 December 1983) was an Italian politician.
Biography Early years
Terracini was born in Genoa on 27 July 1895 to a Jewish family originally from Piedmont. After completing his elementa ...
, former President of the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
, sustained by the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
;
*
Giuseppe Saragat
Giuseppe Saragat (; 19 September 1898 – 11 June 1988) was an Italian politician who served as the president of Italy from 1964 to 1971.
Early life
Born to Sardinian parents, he was a member of the Unitary Socialist Party (Italy, 1922), Unita ...
, leader of
Democratic Socialist Party and former President of the Constituent Assembly;
*
Giovanni Gronchi
Giovanni Gronchi, (; 10 September 1887 – 17 October 1978) was an Italian politician from Christian Democracy who served as the president of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "openi ...
, outgoing
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, not officially endorsed by the chairman of
Eni
Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...
,
Enrico Mattei
Enrico Mattei (; 29 April 1906 – 27 October 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II he was given the task of dismantling the Italian petroleum agency Agip, a state enterprise established by the Fascist regime. I ...
.
Timeline
![Giuramento Segni](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Giuramento_Segni.jpg)
On 2 May 1962, the
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...
convened in order to elect the new President of the Republic, since President
Giovanni Gronchi
Giovanni Gronchi, (; 10 September 1887 – 17 October 1978) was an Italian politician from Christian Democracy who served as the president of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "openi ...
's term was about to end.
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
leader
Aldo Moro
Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July ...
decided to endorse the candidacy of
Antonio Segni
Antonio Segni (; 2 February 1891 – 1 December 1972) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the president of Italy from May 1962 to December 1964 and the prime minister of Italy in two distinct terms between 1955 and 1960.
A memb ...
, former Prime Minister and member of the conservative faction of the party. With that choice, Moro wanted to reassure the conservatives representatives of his own party, worried about a possible extreme shift on leftist stances by their party after the beginning of the
Organic centre-left period in February 1962.
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy.
The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...
decided to vote for
Umberto Terracini
Umberto Elia Terracini (Genoa, 27 July 1895 – Rome, 6 December 1983) was an Italian politician.
Biography Early years
Terracini was born in Genoa on 27 July 1895 to a Jewish family originally from Piedmont. After completing his elementa ...
on the first round, while
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country.
Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
sustained
Sandro Pertini
Alessandro "Sandro" Pertini (; 25 September 1896 – 24 February 1990) was an Italian socialist politician who served as the president of Italy from 1978 to 1985.
Early life
Born in Stella (Province of Savona) as the son of a wealthy landown ...
.
After the third round, communists and socialists decided to converge on the candidacy of the
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
Giuseppe Saragat
Giuseppe Saragat (; 19 September 1898 – 11 June 1988) was an Italian politician who served as the president of Italy from 1964 to 1971.
Early life
Born to Sardinian parents, he was a member of the Unitary Socialist Party (Italy, 1922), Unita ...
, who also gained the favor of some christian democrat ''snipers'' representatives.
After several ballots, on 6 May 1962
Antonio Segni
Antonio Segni (; 2 February 1891 – 1 December 1972) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the president of Italy from May 1962 to December 1964 and the prime minister of Italy in two distinct terms between 1955 and 1960.
A memb ...
was finally elected President with just the 51% of the votes. His election was allowed thanks to the votes of monarchist and neo-fascist representatives. It was the first time that
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
's official candidate succeeded in being elected President of the Republic.
Results
Notes
References
{{Italian presidential elections
Presidential elections in Italy
1962 elections in Italy