Giulietta Fibbi (4 August 1920 – 21 January 2018) 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 ...

trade union leader, communist politician and anti-fascist activist. Born in

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

in Italy, Fibbi grew up in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, where her socialist father fled to avoid persecution by the fascist government. When she was 15, she began working in a textile mill, and two years later, she became the leader of the Union of French Girls. During

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 opposing ...

, Fibbi was imprisoned in the

Rieucros Camp The Rieucros Camp was an internment camp on a forested hillside near Mende in the French department of Lozère that operated from January 1939 to February 1942. Prime Minister Édouard Daladier established the camp by decree on January 21, 1939, ...

, where she worked closely with Teresa Noce to organise underground education in politics and the Italian language. She was returned to Italy in 1941 and immediately arrested but was released after six months, due to a lack of evidence against her. She was placed under surveillance for two years, and when this ended, she began working for the illegal

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). She joined the secretariat 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 one of the five founders of the Women's Defense Groups. After the war, Fibbi began working for the

Italian Federation of Textile Workers The Italian Federation of Textile Workers ( it, Federazione Italiana Operai Tessili, FIOT) was a trade union representing workers in textile manufacturing and processing in Italy. The union was founded on 28 April 1901, when a wide variety of lo ...

, led by Noce, and in 1955, she succeeded as the union's general secretary. In 1966, it became part of the new

Italian Federation of Textile and Garment Workers The Italian Federation of Textile and Garment Workers ( it, Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Tessili ed Abbigliamento, FILTEA) was a trade union representing workers in the textile and clothing industries in Italy. The union was founded in March ...

, with Fibbi continuing in post until 1969. From about 1960, she additionally served as president of the Trade Union International of Textile, Leather and Fur Workers Unions. In 1963, Fibbi was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, serving until 1976. She served on the central committee of the PCI from 1951 until 1979, when she moved to the central control commission. When the PCI dissolved, she joined 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 ...

, becoming the leader of its national guarantee commission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fibbi, Lina 1920 births 2018 deaths Italian Communist Party politicians Italian trade unionists Deputies of Legislature IV of Italy Deputies of Legislature V of Italy People from Fiesole