Achille Leone Occhetto (; born 3 March 1936) is an Italian

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He served as the last

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

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). ...

(PCI) between 1988 and 1991, and the first leader of the

Democratic Party of the Left The Democratic Party of the Left ( it, Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS) was a democratic socialist and social-democratic political party in Italy. Founded in February 1991 as the post-communist evolution of the Italian Communist Party, ...

(PDS), the parliamentary socialist successor of the PCI, from 1991 to 1994.

Biography

Occhetto was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. He is married to the activist and former actress

Elisa Kadigia Bove Elisa Kadigia Bove is an Italian actress. Personal life Kadigia Bove is of Italian Somalis, Italian-Somali descent.

. They have two sons, Malcolm and Massimiliano, both of whom were born in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

.Biography, Achille Occhetto
(in Italian) He served as secretary of the

Italian Communist Youth Federation The Italian Communist Youth Federation ( it, Federazione Giovanile Comunista Italiana, FGCI) was the youth wing of the Italian Communist Party (''Partito Comunista Italiano''; PCI), and the direct heir of the Federazione Giovanile Comunista d'Ita ...

(to which he had belonged starting from 1953) from 1963 to 1966 and, subsequently, as regional secretary of the Italian Communist Party in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, distinguishing himself for his war against any kind of

mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

. He was appointed in 1986 as national coordinator of the PCI and became its secretary in 1988, succeeding

Alessandro Natta Alessandro Natta (7 January 1918 – 23 May 2001), was an Italian politician and secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from 1984 to 1988. Before and during the World War Born in Oneglia, Natta attended the Scuola Normale Superiore ...

. Under his leadership, the party witnessed the collapse of both the

Berlin wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

and the communist regime in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He responded by declaring the communist experience over, and persuaded the PCI to dissolve and refound itself as a democratic socialist party, the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS). This political shift (known in Italian politics as the ''Svolta della Bolognina'') was accepted by approximately 70% of the members at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party (8 February 1991). In 1994, he challenged and was defeated by

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

in the 1994 election, leading the

Alliance of Progressives The Alliance of Progressives ( it, Alleanza dei Progressisti) was a left-wing political alliance of parties in Italy formed in 1994, with relevant predecessors at local level in 1993. The leader of the alliance was Achille Occhetto. The allianc ...

; because of this loss he resigned as party secretary. He returned to politics in the 2004 European elections, being elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

on a joint ticket with anti-

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

campaigner

Antonio Di Pietro Antonio Di Pietro (; born 2 October 1950) is an Italian politician, lawyer and magistrate. He was a minister in government of Romano Prodi, a Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senator, and a Member of the European Parliament. He was a prosecutor i ...

, but he immediately resigned and was replaced by

Giulietto Chiesa Giulietto Chiesa (; 4 September 1940 – 26 April 2020) was an Italian journalist, author, lecturer, and politician. He was Vice-President of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, European Parliament's Committee on Inter ...

. After the 2006 General election, he returned to the European Parliament by taking up one of the seats vacated by an elected Deputy, and sits as an Independent member of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom. ...

group. In 2009, he joined the new left-wing formation

Left Ecology Freedom Left Ecology Freedom ( it, Sinistra Ecologia Libertà, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party. The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former Preside ...

. He is an atheist.Maria Latella, "Occhetto: pecca chi vota i vecchi DC", ''Il Corriere della Sera'', 28 January 1994, p. 2.

References

External links

A declaration about "Il Cantiere", a new political project

{{DEFAULTSORT:Occhetto, Achille 1936 births Living people Politicians from Turin Italian atheists Italian Communist Party politicians Democratic Party of the Left politicians Democrats of the Left politicians Democratic Left (Italy) politicians Left Ecology Freedom politicians Deputies of Legislature VII of Italy Deputies of Legislature VIII of Italy Deputies of Legislature IX of Italy Deputies of Legislature X of Italy Deputies of Legislature XI of Italy Deputies of Legislature XII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIII of Italy Senators of Legislature XIV of Italy MEPs for Italy 2004–2009