Attilio Piccioni (14 July 1892 – 10 March 1976) was an Italian

politician 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 had been a prominent member of the

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

Biography

Piccioni was born on 14 July 1892 in

Poggio Bustone Poggio Bustone ( Poiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about northeast of Rome and about north of Rieti. Poggio Bustone borders the following municipalities: Cantalice, Leoness ...

(

Province of Rieti The Province of Rieti ( it, Provincia di Rieti) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Rieti. Established in 1927, it has an area of with a total population of 157,887 people as of 2017. There are 73 ''comuni'' ...

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

) and graduated in Law at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a Public university, public research university l ...

. He participated in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, first as an officer of the

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, whi ...

, then as a vehicle instructor. After the War Piccioni moved to

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 ...

, where he married, and joined the Italian People's Party (PPI). He became secretary of the Turin section of PPI and member of its National Council. With the advent of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

in power, in 1926, after the forced dissolution of the PPI, he moved to

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

, where he resumed practicing as a lawyer and became a widower. In 1943 he was a member of the

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee ( it, Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against Nazi Germany’s forces during the German occup ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

. After the end of the

Second World War 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 ...

he moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and on 2 June 1946 he 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 ...

among the ranks of the

(DC). He was part of the "Commission of 75" in charge of drawing up and proposing the draft Constitution of the Italian Republic. A trusted man of

Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953. De Gasp ...

, Piccioni was the political secretary of DC from 1946 to 1949 and Deputy Prime Minister in the fifth,

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

and eighth De Gasperi government. He also served as Minister of Grace and Justice in the sixth De Gasperi government. After the rejection of the trust by the Chamber of Deputies to the eighth De Gasperi government (28 July 1953), Piccioni was commissioned by the President of the Republic

Luigi Einaudi Luigi Numa Lorenzo Einaudi (; 24 March 1874 – 30 October 1961) was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the president of Italy from 1948 to 1955. Early life Einaudi was born to Lorenzo and Placida Fracchia in Carrù, in the prov ...

to form the new government. However he had to give up the office, since he failed to form a majority in the Parliament. Subsequently Piccioni was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the brief first Fanfani government (January–February 1954), after which he was summoned again by President Einaudi to succeed Fanfani as Prime Minister. Piccioni, however, did not want to take on this responsibility for the involvement of his son Piero, composer, in the case of

Wilma Montesi Wilma Montesi (3 February 1932 – 9 April 1953) was an Italian woman whose body was discovered near Rome. The finding of her lifeless body on a public beach near Torvajanica, on Rome's littoral, led to prolonged investigations involving se ...

, a Roman girl found dead on the beach of

Torvaianica Torvaianica or Torvajanica is a ''frazione'' of the comune of Pomezia, in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy. Counting some 12,700 inhabitants, it extends for some on central Lazio's littoral. Overview According to Vergil's ''Aeneid'' ...

; thus he was confirmed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new Scelba Government. On 26 March 1954, the Montesi case (initially filed) was officially reopened by the Rome Court of Appeal. Because of this scandal, on 19 September Piccioni resigned as Minister of Foreign Affairs and from all his official offices. Two days later, his son Piero was arrested on charges of manslaughter and drug use and then imprisoned in the

Regina Coeli prison Regina Coeli (; it, Carcere di Regina Coeli ) is the best known prison in the city of Rome. Previously a Catholic convent (hence the name), it was built in 1654 in the rione of Trastevere. It started to serve as a prison in 1881. The constructi ...

. Piero obtained provisional freedom after three months in preventive detention and was finally cleared of all charges.Wilma Montesi: la morte, il giallo, lo scandalo nella Dc, il processoUn mistero lungo 60 anni
/ref> In the years 1956-57, Piccioni was the head of the Italian delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. He served again as Deputy Prime Minister in the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

(1960-1962) and fourth Fanfani government (1962-1963), in which he also assumed the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs, to replace

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 ...

, who became President of the Republic. He was again Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first Leone government (1963) and Minister without portfolio in the I, II, and III Moro government (1963-1968). He died in Rome in 1976.

References

External links

Farnesina website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piccioni, Attilio 1892 births 1976 deaths People from the Province of Rieti Deputy Prime Ministers of Italy Foreign ministers of Italy Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy) Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Italian Ministers of Justice Sapienza University of Rome alumni