Ilio Bosi (4 October 1903 – 5 December 1995) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

communist politician and trade unionist. Born in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, Bosi joined 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, ...

in 1920 and was then a founder member 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). In 1924, he joined the central committee 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 ...

, and began undertaking underground work in southern Italy for the party. In 1926, he was appointed as the party's secretary for Sicily and Calabria, but he was arrested soon afterwards, and sentenced to ten years in prison. Bosi was released in the early 1930s, but was re-arrested in 1934, and sentenced to 16 years in prison, being released only after the fall of the fascist government. He then became prominent in the resistance movement in the Comacchio Valleys, then moved to Milan, where he joined the command of the

Garibaldi Brigades 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 ...

, and was then appointed to the triumvirate leading the resistance in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

. Following the end 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 ...

, Bosi moved to Rome, to join the PCI's National Directorate, then became the leader of its organisation in Ferrara. In the

1946 Italian general election General elections were held in Italy on Sunday, 2 June 1946.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1047 They were the first after World War II and elected 556 deputies to the Constituent Assembly. Theoret ...

, he was elected to represent

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

in the

Italian Constituent Assembly The Italian Constituent Assembly (Italian: ''Assemblea Costituente della Repubblica Italiana'') was a parliamentary chamber which existed in Italy from 25 June 1946 until 31 January 1948. It was tasked with writing a constitution for the Italian ...

, and he then served in the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

. In 1946, Bosi also became the general secretary of the National Federation of Agricultural Workers (Confederterra), a large organisation which represented agricultural workers, and from 1947 also served on the executive 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 ...

. Confederterra later became an umbrella organisation for several trade unions, with Bosi continuing as its overall leader. In 1949, he became the founding president of the

Trade Union International of Agricultural, Forestry and Plantation Workers The Trade Union International of Agricultural, Forestry and Plantation Workers was a trade union international affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions. History The TUI was founded at a conference in Warsaw, People's Republic of Pola ...

. In 1963, Bosi left his national positions, and returned to Ferrara, working in public administration. Shortly before his death, he published an autobiography, ''Il bastone e la galera''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosi, Ilio 1903 births 1995 deaths Italian Communist Party politicians Italian trade unionists Senators of Legislature I of Italy Senators of Legislature II of Italy Senators of Legislature III of Italy Politicians from Ferrara