The Ministry of Education and Merit ( it, Ministero dell'Istruzione e del Merito, or MEM) is the government body of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

devoted to the administration of the national education system. It was active in three separate periods (1861–1929; 1944–2001; 2006–2008), before being merged with the Ministry of Universities and Research to create the

Ministry of Education, University and Research The Ministry of Education, University and Research (in it, Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, italic=no or MIUR) is the ministry of the Council of Ministers (Italy), Italian government for the national education system, ...

. The two ministries were re-instated in January 2020.

History

Set up in 1861 under the Cavour cabinet, it was suppressed on 12 September 1929 by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's cabinet, and replaced by the ''Ministero dell'Educazione Nazionale'' (''Ministry of National Education''). This name persisted until 29 May 1944 (i.e. until under the second cabinet of

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...

), and the second

Ivanoe Bonomi Ivanoe Bonomi (18 October 1873 – 20 April 1951) was an Italian politician and journalist who served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1921 to 1922 and again from 1944 to 1945. Background and earlier career Ivanoe Bonomi was born in Mantua, I ...

cabinet had it revert to its original name (''della Pubblica Istruzione''). It remained unchanged until 14 December 1974, when

Giovanni Spadolini Giovanni Spadolini (21 June 1925 – 4 August 1994) was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as the 44th prime minister of Italy. He had been a leading figure in the Republican Party and the first head of a government to not be ...

(then head of government) created the '' Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali'', which took over responsibilities and functions from this and other ministries. In 1988, the Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica also subsumed some of the education ministry's responsibilities. In the first

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...

cabinet the two were merged into the ''Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione, Università, Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica'', then the Ministero dell'istruzione, dell'università e della ricerca (MIUR) in the second and third

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

cabinets. The two were re-separated in the second Prodi cabinet of 17 May 2006, but then re-merged in the fourth Berlusconi cabinet of 7 May 2008.

Organization

At its end in 2007, the Ministry consisted of (2007): * Uffici per la diretta collaborazione del Ministro * Dipartimento per l'Istruzione ** D.G. Affari internazionali ** D.G. Istruzione post-secondaria ** D.G. Ordinamenti scolastici ** D.G. Personale della scuola ** D.G. Studente * Dipartimento per la programmazione ** D.G. Comunicazione ** D.G. Politica finanziaria e bilancio ** D.G. Risorse umane ** D.G. Sistemi informativi ** D.G. Studi e programmazione

Ministers since 1946

References

External links

Official siteOfficial Forum
{{authority control

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

Italy, Education Italy, Education Italy, Education 1861 establishments in Italy