Michele De Pietro (1884–1967) was an Italian lawyer and politician. He was the vice president of 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 ...

for two terms and the

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the period 1954–1956.

Early life and education

De Pietro was born in

Cursi Cursi (Griko: translit. ; Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in ...

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

, on 26 February 1884. His parents were Pasquale Domenico De Pietro, a lawyer, and Addolorata Lunch. He received a degree in law from

La Sapienza University 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 research university located in Rome, Ita ...

in Rome in 1906.

Career and activities

Following his graduation De Pietro worked as a lawyer until 1915. He took part in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as an infantry

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He joined the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party ...

(PLI) in 1920. In 1942 De Pietro was arrested because of his anti-Fascist activities. In 1945 he was appointed member of the National Council. He left the PLI in 1946 and later joined the

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

(DC). In the elections on 18 April 1948 he was elected to the Italian Senate from the DC representing Lecce. In the 1953 elections he was again elected to the Senate and became vice president of the Senate which he held until 18 January 1954 when he was appointed minister of grace and justice to the first

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 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 ...

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 ...

. Although the cabinet's term ended soon, De Pietro continued to serve in the post in the subsequent

led by

Mario Scelba Mario Scelba (5 September 1901 – 29 October 1991) was an Italian politician who served as the 33rd prime minister of Italy from February 1954 to July 1955. A founder of the Christian Democracy, Scelba was one of the longest-serving Minister of ...

from 10 February 1954 to 6 July 1955. On 4 July 1957 De Pietro was again elected vice president of the Senate. Following the end of his tenure in 1958 he became president of the order of lawyers and prosecutors at the Court of Appeal and the Court of Lecce. Between 1958 and 1967 he was also president of the National Center for Prevention and Social Defense, succeeding

Alessandro Casati Alessandro Casati (5 March 1881 – 4 June 1955) was an Italian academic, commentator and politician. He served as a senator between 1923 and 1924 and again between 1948 and 1953. He also held ministerial office, most recently as Ministe ...

and

Enrico De Nicola Enrico De Nicola, (; 9 November 1877 – 1 October 1959) was an Italian jurist, journalist, politician, and provisional head of state of republican Italy from 1946 to 1948. Afterwards, he became the first president of Italy on 1 January 1948 ...

in this position.

Personal life and death

De Pietro married Clementina Fumarola in 1911. He died in Lecce on 7 October 1967.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietro, Michele 20th-century Italian lawyers 1884 births 1967 deaths Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Italian Ministers of Justice Italian People's Party (1919) politicians People from the Province of Lecce Sapienza University of Rome alumni Italian anti-fascists Italian prisoners and detainees Members of the National Council (Italy) Italian military personnel of World War I Senators of Legislature I of Italy Senators of Legislature II of Italy