Augusto Antonio Barbera (born 25 June 1938) is an Italian judge and former

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...

professor at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

. In his political career he was member 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 ...

between 1976 and 1994 for 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). ...

and later 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, t ...

. In 1993 he served shortly as Minister without portfolio for relations with Parliament in the government of Prime Minister

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006. Biography Education Ciampi was born i ...

. Barbera has been Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy since 21 December 2015.

Career

Barbera was born in Aidone on 25 June 1938. He obtained a degree in Jurisprudence with a specialization in constitutional law. Between 1967 and 1969 he worked abroad as a researcher at the universities of

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants ...

and Heidelberg. Barbera was a lecturer of constitutional law at the

University of Catania The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...

from 1969 to 1970. He then took up similar position at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...

, where he would remain until 1977. In that latter year he started working at the Institute of Public Law of the faculty of political science of the

. He stopped working there in 1994. He was a professor of constitutional law at the University of Bologna. He took up

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

status in 2014. In 2013 Barbera was named as one of 35 academics in a commission on constitutional reform under Prime Minister

Enrico Letta Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014, leading a grand coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties. Since March 2021, Letta has been secretary o ...

. Barbera is a corresponding academic of the

Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna The Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna (''Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna'') is an academic society in Bologna, Italy, that was founded in 1690 and prospered in the Age of Enlightenment. Today it is closely associated ...

in the section of law, economics, and finance.

Political career

Barbera took up political office in 1976, when he was elected to the

for the

. He would stay member of the Chamber until 1994. When the Communist Party dissolved in 1991, he stayed member of its successor party, the

. From 1987 to 1992 Barbera served as president of the parliamentary committee on regional questions. On 29 April 1993 Barbera was one of three former Communist Party politicians named in the new

Ciampi Cabinet The Ciampi Cabinet, led by the former Governor of the Bank of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, was the 50th cabinet of the Italian Republic and the second and final cabinet of the XI Legislature. It held office from 29 April 1993 until 11 May 1994, a ...

; the other two were

Vincenzo Visco Vincenzo Alfonso Visco (; born 18 March 1942, in Foggia) is an Italian politician and economist who has served as a government minister. He gained an MSc in Economics at the University of York in 1969 and was awarded an honorary degree in 2004. ...

and

Luigi Berlinguer Luigi Berlinguer (; born 25 July 1932) is an Italian politician who served in the government of Italy as minister of education from 1996 to 2000. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Early life and education Berlinguer was born in Sassari on ...

. Barbera was made Minister without portfolio for relations with Parliament. It was the first time in 46 years that former Communist Party politicians were made part of the cabinet. Several hours after being officially named in the government, a rupture broke in the coalition over the handling of charges in Parliament against former Prime Minister

Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( , , ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He was the first PSI membe ...

. The Ministers of the Democratic Party of the Left, to which Barbera belonged, resigned. His replacement, Paolo Barile, took office on 4 May. On 16 December 2015, 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 ...

elected three candidates to the Constitutional Court of Italy:

Franco Modugno Franco Modugno (born 3 May 1938) is an Italian judge and former law professor at the Sapienza University of Rome. He has been Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy since 21 December 2015. Career Modugno was born in Rome on 3 May 1938. He o ...

Giulio Prosperetti Giulio Prosperetti (born 7 December 1946) is an Italian judge and labour law professor at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He has been Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy since 21 December 2015. Career Prosperetti was born in Perugia ...

and Barbera. The election was realized after 31 previous failed attempts. Barbera was the candidate of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

, he obtained 581 votes in favor. He was sworn in five days after his election.

Honour

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (31 may 2017)

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbera, Augusto 1938 births Living people People from Aidone Italian Communist Party politicians Democratic Party of the Left politicians Democrats of the Left politicians Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Government ministers of Italy 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 Judges of the Constitutional Court of Italy Scholars of constitutional law University of Bologna faculty University of Catania faculty University of Ferrara faculty Jurists from Sicily Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic