Emilio Colombo (11 April 1920 – 24 June 2013) was an Italian politician, member of the Christian Democracy, who served as

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

from August 1970 to February 1972. During his long political career, Colombo held many offices in several governments. He served as

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

from 1955 to 1958;

Minister of Foreign Trade The Ministry of Foreign Trade (russian: Министерство внешней торговли СССР; Minvneshtorg) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. The foreign trade of the USSR was a government monopoly and was conducted by t ...

from 1958 to 1959; Minister of Grace and Justice from 1970 to 1972; Minister of Treasury from 1963 to 1970, in 1962 and from 1974 to 1976; Minister of Budget in 1968 and from 1987 to 1988;

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1988 to 1989;

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

from 1980 to 1993 and from 1992 to 1993. Colombo, a fervent Europeanist, served also as

President of the European Parliament President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

from 1977 to 1979. In 2003, he was appointed Senator for life, a seat which he held until his death.

Early life and education

Colombo was born in Potenza, Basilicata on 11 April 1920.Page at Senate website
He grew up, along with his six brothers, in a middle-class family; his father, Angelo Colombo, was a public administration's official, while her mother, Rosa Tordella, was a housewife. In 1935, he founded the first local section of

Catholic Action Catholic Action is the name of groups of lay Catholics who advocate for increased Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic countries under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, I ...

(AC), a widespread Catholic association and one of the few non-fascist organizations, admitted by the regime of Benito Mussolini. In 1937, Colombo became the president of Potenza's Catholic Action and member of the National Council of Catholic Action's Youth. In the same year, he obtained the classical lyceum diploma at the " Quintus Horatius Flaccus" high school in Potenza. In 1941, Colombo graduated in law at the

Sapienza University of Rome 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 ...

, with a thesis on

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. On 1 August 1942, he was enrolled and took part in the

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 ...

. In September 1943, after the armistice, Colombo returned to Basilicata, starting his political commitment based on anti-fascist and Christian democratic principles. From 1944 to 1947 he was appointed general secretary of Catholic Action's Youth.

Political career

Colombo entered politics as a member of the Christian Democracy (DC) in 1943. In the 1946 election, Colombo was elected to

Constituent Assembly of Italy The Italian Constituent Assembly (Italian: ''Assemblea Costituente della Repubblica Italiana'') was a parliamentary chamber which existed in Italy from 25 June 1946 until 31 January 1948. It was tasked with writing a constitution for the Italia ...

with nearly 21,000 votes, becoming one of the youngest members of the parliament. He was elected for the constituency of Potenza–Matera, which will remain his stronghold for all his political career. Segni De Gasperi Colombo

After two years, in 1948, Colombo was re-elected in the Chamber of Deputies for his constituency, with more than 43,000 votes. From May 1948 to July 1951, he was appointed undersecretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests in the

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

and 6th governments of

Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953. De Gas ...

. During these years, Colombo was carried on a successful mediation in Calabria, in 1949, during clashes for the occupations of the lands by peasants. He also collaborated with minister

Antonio Segni Antonio Segni (; 2 February 1891 – 1 December 1972) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the president of Italy from May 1962 to December 1964 and the prime minister of Italy in two distinct terms between 1955 and 1960. A memb ...

in the approving of the agrarian reform. The

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

, approved by the Parliament in October 1950, was financed in part by the funds of the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

launched by the United States in 1947 and considered by some scholars as the most important reform of the entire post-war period. The reform proposed, through forced expropriation, the distribution of land to agricultural laborers, thus making them small entrepreneurs and no longer subject to the large landowner. If in some ways the reform had this beneficial result, for others it significantly reduced the size of farms, effectively removing any possibility of transforming them into advanced businesses. However, this negative element was mitigated and in some cases eliminated by forms of cooperation.

Prime Minister of Italy

A number of progressive reforms were introduced during Colombo's time as prime minister. A housing reform law of 22 October 1971 introduced new criteria for land expropriations and provisions for urban renewals. Under a law of 6 December 1971, state funds were made available for the construction of a kindergarten in every local authority. A law of 30 December 1971 introduced new regulations covering protection of female workers and maternity insurance. The duration of maternity leave was extended two months prior to, and two months after confinement for all employees, and all female workers were entitled to an earnings-related indemnity, equal to 80% of earnings (including agricultural workers and tenant farmers). Also introduced was an entitlement to voluntary extra period of leave for six months during the first year of the child's life, with job security and an indemnity equal to 30% of earnings, together with an entitlement to paid absences due to the child's sickness during the first three years if the child's life. In addition, a special natality allowance was introduced for self-employed women in the agricultural, artisan, and commercial sectors. Emilio_Colombo_datisenato

Later he became president 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 ...

(occupying that office from 1977 until 1979) and foreign minister of Italy (from 1980 until 1983, and again from 1992 until 1993). In February 2003 then president

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006. Biography Education Ciampi was born i ...

bestowed Italy's highest political honour on him, by nominating him Senator for life. In the first five years as lifetime senator, he was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. From 2008 until his death in June 2013, Colombo was a member of the Autonomies group, formed mainly by elects in

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol it, Trentino (man) it, Trentina (woman) or it, Altoatesino (man) it, Altoatesina (woman) or it, Sudtirolesegerman: Südtiroler (man)german: Südtirolerin (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official ...

. After the inconclusive elections on 24–25 February 2013 and the following difficulties of the hung Senate in electing a presiding officer, Colombo became Provisional President of the Senate until the election of Pietro Grasso on 16 March 2013. The most oldest Senator, Former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, was due to inaugurate the new legislature but his unavailability benefited Colombo. After the death of Giulio Andreotti on 6 May 2013, Colombo became the last surviving member of the

Italian Constituent Assembly The Italian Constituent Assembly (Italian: ''Assemblea Costituente della Repubblica Italiana'') was a parliamentary chamber which existed in Italy from 25 June 1946 until 31 January 1948. It was tasked with writing a constitution for the Italian ...

Personal life

In November 2003, he admitted to have used cocaine (for "therapeutic purposes") over a 12- to 18-month period. Colombo died in Rome on 24 June 2013 at the age of 93.

Honours and awards

*: Grand Officier of the of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

*: Commemorative Medal of the 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire * : Knight of Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

*: Gold Medal of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe, in 2011.

References

External links