Ciro Cirillo (; February 15, 1921 – July 30, 2017) was an Italian politician and 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) political party. He served as the President of the

Province of Naples The Province of Naples ( it, Provincia di Napoli; nap, Pruvincia 'e Nàpule) was a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. In 2014/2015, the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990 and Law 56/2014), replaced the Province of Naples ...

from 1969 to 1975 and the President of Campania from 1979 until 1980. Cirillo oversaw reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake in the Irpinia region, which struck the region on November 23, 1980.Italian Terrorists Kidnap Politician and Kill 2 Guards
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', April 28, 1981 In 1981, Cirillo was

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

by the Red Brigade, an Italian paramilitary group, in a case that garnered worldwide attention. He was released on July 25, 1981, following 89 days in captivity and a

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

payment of 1.45 billion lire.

Biography

Cirillo was raised in

Torre del Greco Torre del Greco (; nap, Torre d' 'o Grieco; "Greek man's Tower") is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, with a population of c. 85,000 . The locals are sometimes called ''Corallini'' because of the once plentiful cora ...

. He began his career at the

Camera di Commercio, Industria, Agricoltura e Artigianato The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Artisanship ( it, Camera di Commercio, Industria, Agricoltura e Artigianato, CCIAA) is a group of Italian organizations that promote business activities. Companies are required to register in the ch ...

, or

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. He joined the

Christian Democratic 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 ...

party (DC) and served as the DC's Naples provincial party secretary during the 1960s. Cirillo rose to become a key figure of the regional DC and a political ally of

Antonio Gava Antonio Gava (30 July 1930 – 8 August 2008) was an Italian politician and member of Christian Democracy (DC). Son of the 13-time minister Silvio Gava, Antonio was one of the Christian Democratic Party's leading power-brokers in Campania ove ...

. He served as the President of the

from 1969 until 1975. In 1979, Cirillo was elected President of Campania, a position he held from 1979 to 1980. He then became the regional councilor of

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

and chairman of the commission which oversaw the regions recovery efforts following the Irpinia earthquake in November 1980.

Kidnapping

On April 27, 1981, Cirllo was kidnapped from his home in Torre del Greco by five members of the Red Brigade. During the kidnapping, Cirillo's police escort, Giovanni Senanzi, and his

chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...

, Mario Cancello, were killed in a shoot out between the Red Brigade and the police, while his secretary suffered leg wounds. Cirillo was held captive by the Red Brigade for 89 days. While Cirillo's kidnapping drew worldwide headlines, many the events during this time period remain a mystery to the present day. Cirillo was finally released on July 25, 1981, following a controversial ransom payment by the Christian Democrats of 1.45 billion lire (the equivalent of 748,000 euros in 2017). The ransom proved contentious, as the DC had previously refused payment for the release of

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 ...

Aldo Moro, who was kidnapped and killed by the Red Brigade in 1978 following 55 days of captivity. In 2000, Cirillo told ''

La Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo ...

'' that he had written a letter with his version of the kidnapping, to be released by his lawyer after his death. However, he later retracted the letter's existence, telling ''

Il Mattino ''Il Mattino'' (meaning ''The Morning'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Naples, Italy. History and profile ''Il Mattino'' was first published on 16 March 1892 by the journalists Edoardo Scarfoglio and Matilde Serao. The pa ...

'' newspaper that, "It was a bluff. There was a period where I was harassed by journalists. Two Tuscan

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s stood out...I invented a story of a secret account to brush them off." Cirillo, in another interview in 2006, also expressed frustration at the DC party, which had asked him to leave office soon after his release by his kidnappers in 1981. Ciro Cirillo, who was married with children, died on July 30, 2017, at the age of 96. His funeral was held at the Carmelitani Scalzi church in

on July 31, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cirillo, Ciro 1921 births 2017 deaths Presidents of Campania Presidents of the Province of Naples Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians People from Torre del Greco