Angiola Minella Molinari (3 February 1920 – 12 March 1988) was an Italian politician. She was elected to 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 ...

in 1946 as one of the first group of women parliamentarians in Italy. She subsequently served for two non-consecutive terms in 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 ...

and two in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Biography

Minella 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 ...

in 1920.Angiola Minella Molinari
Enciclopedia delle donne When she was 12, her father Mario was murdered by fascists. She attended the

Liceo Classico Massimo d'Azeglio Liceo Classico Massimo d'Azeglio is a public sixth form college/senior high school (''liceo classico'') in Turin, Italy. It is named after the politician Massimo d'Azeglio. History It was established as the Collegio di Porta Nuova in 1831 and be ...

, where she was a classmate of

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

, and subsequently began studying literature at university. Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she trained to be a nurse in the Red Cross and worked in a hospital in

Bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...

. She joined the

Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

in 1944, initially with the Badogliani and then the

Brigate Garibaldi The ''Brigate Garibaldi'' or Garibaldi Brigades were partisan units aligned with the Italian Communist Party active in the armed resistance against both German and Italian fascist forces during World War II. The Brigades were mostly made up of ...

. Following the war, Minella became active in the

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

branch 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). ...

, in which she met Piero Molinari, who she went on to marry, contrary to the advice of her mother. She was elected to the municipal council of Savona in the March 1946 local elections and was subsequently a PCI candidate in the June 1946 general elections, in which she was one of 21 women elected to the Constituent Assembly. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

and had a daughter Laura in 1950. After losing her seat in the

1953 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1953. Africa * 1953 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland election * 1953 South African general election * 1953 Southern Rhodesian federation referendum * 1953 South-West African legislative election ...

, she became the Italian representative at the

Women's International Democratic Federation Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international organization with the stated goal of working for women's rights. It was established in 1945 and was most active during the Cold War. It initially focussed on anti-fascism, worl ...

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

, serving as its secretary general from 1955. Minella returned to Italy in 1957 and was elected back to the Chamber of Deputies in the 1958 elections. She was subsequently elected to the Senate in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and re-elected in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, serving until

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. She died in Turin in 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minella, Angiola 1920 births Politicians from Turin Italian nurses Italian women nurses Italian Communist Party politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Senators of Legislature IV of Italy Senators of Legislature V of Italy 1988 deaths Health professionals from Turin 20th-century Italian women politicians Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)