Luigi Granelli (1929–1999) was an Italian politician who served in different government posts. He was a member of the

Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

(DC) between 1945 and 1994 and one of the "third generation" leaders of the Christian Democrats. Granelli joined People's Party (PPI) in 1994.

Early life and education

Granelli was born in

Lovere Lovere (Bergamasque: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, northern Italy, at the northwest end of Lake Iseo. The houses in the city have overhanging wooden roofs, typical of Switzerland, combined with the heavy s ...

in the province of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

on 1 March 1929. He obtained a professional school diploma.

Career

Following graduation Granelli worked as a skilled worker until 1952. In 1945 his political began when he joined the DC and in 1957 he became a member of its central committee which he held until 1991. In the late 1950s Granelli was one of the leaders of the faction called La Base (Italian: Sinistra di Base) in the DC which was the most leftist group in the party. In the 12th Congress of the DC in 1973 the members of this faction comprised 10.8% of the DC members. Granelli was elected

city councilor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

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 ...

in 1965. He became a member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1968 and was re-elected in 1972 and 1976. He served as the undersecretary for foreign affairs from 1973 to 1976. He was the member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

from October 1976 to June 1979. As of 1977 he was director of external relations office of the DC. In July 1983 Granelli was appointed minister for scientific and technological research which he held until July 1987 in three successive cabinets which were led by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

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 ...

for two times and by Prime Minister

Amintore Fanfani Amintore Fanfani (; 6 February 1908 – 20 November 1999) was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as 32nd prime minister of Italy for five separate terms. He was one of the best-known Italian politicians after the Second World War an ...

. Then he served as the minister for state holdings from August 1987 to April 1988 in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

led by Prime Minister

Giovanni Goria Giovanni Giuseppe Goria (; (30 July 1943 – 21 May 1994) was an Italian politician. He served as the 46th prime minister of Italy from 1987 until 1988. Biography Background and early life Goria was born in Asti (Piedmont). Goria was an ...

. Granelli was elected to 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 1979 and was the vice president of the Senate from 30 April 1992 to 15 April 1994. He left the DC in 1994 when it was dissolved and joined the PPI the same year when it was established.

Other activities and views

From 1960 to 1967 he was president of the National Institute for the Training and Improvement of Industrial Workers, a national body aimed at training the industrial workers. He was a board member and president of the Lombardy Institute of Economic and Social Studies which was renamed as Lombardy Regional Research Institute in 1974. Granelli contributed to many magazines and newspapers and was the director of a bimonthly political magazine entitled ''Stato democratico'' which he founded in 1953 and a monthly political and cultural magazine entitled ''Il Domani d'Italy''. Granelli was one of the leading politicians who did not support Italy's participation in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and argued that Italy should follow a neutral policy. This group also included other DC politicians such as Giorgio La Pira and

Personal life and death

He married Adriana Granelli in 1953. They had a son who was born in 1960. He died on 1 December 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granelli, Luigi 1929 births 1999 deaths Government ministers of Italy Politicians from the Province of Bergamo Christian Democracy (Italy) MEPs Italian magazine founders Italian People's Party (1994) politicians Deputies of Legislature VI of Italy Deputies of Legislature V of Italy Deputies of Legislature VII of Italy Senators of Legislature XI of Italy Senators of Legislature X of Italy