Guglielmo Epifani (24 March 1950 – 7 June 2021) was an Italian

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and politician. From 2002 to 2010, he was the General Secretary of the

Italian General Confederation of Labour The Italian General Confederation of Labour (; CGIL) is a national trade union based in Italy. It was formed by agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and Christi ...

(CGIL), which was the biggest trade union in Europe. On 11 May 2013, Epifani was appointed

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

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 *Demo ...

(PD).

Biography

Epifani was born in

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 ...

in 1950. In 1953 the family moved to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and then returned to Rome, in the Talenti neighbourhood, where Epifani finished secondary school at a

Liceo classico Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 1969, this was ...

, obtaining a classical education diploma in 1969. In 1973 he graduated from 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 ...

in Philosophy with a thesis on

Anna Kuliscioff Anna Kuliscioff (; rus, Анна Кулишёва, , ˈanːə kʊlʲɪˈʂovə; born Anna Moiseyevna Rozenshtein, ; 9 January 1857 – 27 December 1925) was a Russian-Italian revolutionary of Jewish origin, a prominent feminist, an anarchist in ...

and subsequently enrolled in the CGIL, where he worked as a trade unionist. In 1974 he directed the publishing house of the Confederation, the ''Esi'', significantly increasing its personal prestige within the confederation: within two years he landed at the Office of Auditors, where he coordinated the contractual policies of the categories, and then all Industry Bureau of the Confederacy. Epifani was a member of the

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, ...

(PSI). In 1979 he began his career as a union leader with the post of Secretary-General of the category of Printing and paper manufacturers. In 1990 he joined the confederate and in 1993 was appointed Deputy Secretary-General by

Bruno Trentin Bruno Trentin (9 December 1926 – 23 August 2007) was an Italian trade unionist and politician, General Secretary of Italian General Confederation of Labour from 1988 to 1994. Biography Trentin was born in Pavie, France, where his parents li ...

. He was writing before the Italian Socialist Party and, after the end of the PSI, the

Democrats of the Left The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of th ...

. Following the termination of the mandate of

Sergio Cofferati Sergio Cofferati (born 30 January 1948) is an Italian trade unionist and politician. Secretary general of CGIL from 1994 to 2002, Mayor of Bologna for the Democrats of the Left from 2004 to 2009 and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 20 ...

, Deputy of the union from 1994 to 2002, Epifani became General Secretary of CGIL, the most important Italian trade union, the first Socialist to lead it since its reconstitution in 1944. On 16 October 2010 Guglielmo Epifani delivered his last speech as secretary of the CGIL in

Piazza San Giovanni Piazza San Giovanni is a city square in Florence, Italy. Buildings around the square *Florence Baptistery *Palazzo Arcivescovile, Florence * Torre dei Lodi Focardi Marignolli *Opera di San Giovanni *Loggia del Bigallo The Loggia del Bigallo is ...

in Rome, on the occasion of the event FIOM. On 3 November 2010, the leadership of the CGIL was handed over to

Susanna Camusso Susanna Camusso (born 14 August 1955) is an Italian trade unionist and former General Secretary of the CGIL. Biography Camusso became involved with trade unions in 1975, while studying for a degree in archeology (incomplete), and was an activist ...

first woman secretary of the CGIL. Subsequent to the

2013 Italian general election The 2013 Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 17th Italian Parliament. The centre-left alliance ...

, Epifani was elected to 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 ...

as a candidate of the Democratic Party in the constituency list Campania I. On 11 May 2013, Epifani became Secretary of the party, with the mission of leading the party to the convention. He was the first former

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

to have led the PD. Epifani was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the

2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective membe ...

, among the ranks of the Free and Equal list.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epifani, Guglielmo 1950 births 2021 deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital 21st-century Italian politicians Democratic Party (Italy) MEPs Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Italian Socialist Party politicians Democrats of the Left politicians Article One (political party) politicians Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy Sapienza University of Rome alumni