Mariano Rumor
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Mariano Rumor (; 16 June 1915 – 22 January 1990) was an Italian politician and statesman. 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), he served as the 39th
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 December 1968 to August 1970 and again from July 1973 to November 1974. As Prime Minister, he led five different governments, supported by various coalitions. Rumor 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 f ...
from 1959 to 1963,
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 cou ...
from 1974 to 1976, and
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
in two brief periods, in 1963 and from 1972 to 1973. Rumor was the DC
secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
from 1964 to 1969.


Early life and career

Mariano Rumor was born in
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...
, Veneto on 16 June 1915. His father, Giuseppe Rumor, was the owner of a typography and promoter of a local magazine, "The Catholic Worker" founded by Rumor's grandfather. His mother, Tina Nardi, came from a
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
family. He attended the classical lyceum
Antonio Pigafetta Antonio Pigafetta (; – c. 1531) was an Venetian scholar and explorer. He joined the expedition to the Spice Islands led by explorer Ferdinand Magellan under the flag of the emperor Charles V and after Magellan's death in the Philippine Islands, ...
in Vicenza, then he earned a degree from the
University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from B ...
in literature in 1939. After his graduation, Rumor became a teacher at an Italian lyceum until his mobilization as a lieutenant in the
Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...
during the
Second World War 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 opposin ...
. Subsequent to the
Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...
in 1943 between Italy and the Allied powers, Rumor joined the
Italian resistance movement The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...
. After the end of the war, he was among the founders of the
Christian Associations of Italian Workers The Christian Associations of Italian Workers (''Associazioni Cristiane dei Lavoratori Italiani'', ACLI; alternatively translated as Italian Christian Workers' Association) are a widespread lay Catholic association in Italy. Its work is based on th ...
(ACLI), the widespread lay Catholic associations, and joined 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) party, of whom he became one of the main leaders in Veneto, very close to Prime Minister
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 Gasp ...
. In the 1946 election, Rumor was elected with more than 29,000 votes to the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
, for the constituency of Verona–Padova–Vicenza–Rovigo. He became a member of the new-born
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
in 1948. The 1948 election was heavily influenced by the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
confrontation between the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the United States, and are now best known for the covert
political warfare Political warfare is the use of political means to compel an opponent to do one's will, based on hostile intent. The term political describes the calculated interaction between a government and a target audience, including another state's govern ...
waged by the
US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
and
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
on behalf of the DC. The elections were eventually won with a comfortable margin by De Gasperi's DC that defeated the left-wing coalition of the Popular Democratic Front, that comprised the
Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...
(PCI) and the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
(PSI). As a deputy he became very close to
Giuseppe Dossetti Giuseppe Dossetti (13 February 1913 – 15 December 1996) was an Italian jurist, a politician, and from 1958 onward, a Catholic priest. Political career Dossetti was born in Genoa, the son of a piedmontese pharmacist and a mother from Regg ...
, becoming a member of his Christian leftist wing.


Political career


First roles in government

In 1950, Guido Gonella succeeded
Paolo Emilio Taviani Paolo Emilio Taviani (6 November 1912 – 18 June 2001) was an Italian political leader, economist, and historian of the career of Christopher Columbus. He was a partisan leader in Liguria, a Gold Medal of the Resistance, then a member of the C ...
as National Secretary of the DC; the target of the new secretariat was to build a unitary management of the party in support of the government led by Alcide De Gasperi. In this context, Rumor was nominated for the first time as National Deputy Secretary, together with Dossetti. The withdrawal from politics of Giuseppe Dossetti, left his faction without a charismatic leader; however, Mariano Rumor played a decisive role in the birth of the new faction, called "Democratic Initiative", which brought together not only Dossetti's followers, such as
Giorgio La Pira Giorgio La Pira, TOSD (Raimondo in religious life; 9 January 1904 – 5 November 1977) was an Italian Catholic politician who served as the Mayor of Florence. He also served as deputy of the Christian Democrats and participated in the assemb ...
,
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 ...
and
Aldo Moro Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July ...
, but also members of the centrist pro-De Gasperi majority, as Paolo Emilio Taviani and
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (; 9 September 1918 – 29 January 2012) was the president of Italy from 1992 to 1999. A member of Christian Democracy (DC), he became an independent politician after the DC's dissolution in 1992, and was close to the centre ...
. Rumor himself presented the manifesto of Democratic Initiative, published on a magazine with the same name. In this text, alongside the declaration of support for De Gasperi and the
Atlantic Pact The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949 ...
, Dossetti's principles of a Christian reformist party were reaffirmed, with the aim of moving the country towards a "democratic evolution". Rumor immediately played a leading role in the faction. This position, led him to hold the first government posts, becoming Undersecretary for
Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
in De Gasperi's seventh government, a position he also maintained in
De Gasperi VIII Cabinet The De Gasperi VIII Cabinet held office from 16 July to 17 August 1953, a total of just 32 days. It was the first government of the Republic to fall at its inaugural Parliamentary vote of confidence, having been submitted to Parliament by Preside ...
and, after De Gasperi's retirement in 1954, in the short-lived government led by
Giuseppe Pella Giuseppe Pella (18 April 1902 – 31 May 1981) was an Italian Christian Democratic politician who served as the 31st prime minister of Italy from 1953 to 1954. He was also Minister of Treasury, Budget and of Foreign Affairs during the 1950s a ...
. In the brief first Fanfani government, from January to February 1954, Rumor was appointed to Secretary of the Council of Ministers. In 1954, after the National Congress of
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 ...
, which saw the affirmation of Democratic Initiative and the subsequent election of Fanfani as party's Secretary, Rumor was elected again deputy secretary. He held this office for the next five years, until Democratic Initiative split up. In fact, many members of the faction, started criticizing the political line of Fanfani's secretariat, who cautiously began to open to the prospect of a collaboration with
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
(PSI). Prominent members of the faction, including Rumor himself, put the Secretary in minority during the National Congress of March 1959. In this way, Democratic Initiative split up between the followers of Fanfani and the dissident group, now renamed by all ''Dorotei'' ("Dorotheans"), from the place where they had gathered before the congress, the convent of the sisters of Santa Dorotea in Rome. The new faction was built around
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 ...
, Mariano Rumor and Aldo Moro, who was elected new Secretary. In the same year, as one of the faction's leaders, Rumor was appointed
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 f ...
, in the second Segni's government, a position he would keep in the governments of
Fernando Tambroni Fernando Tambroni Armaroli (25 November 1901 – 18 February 1963) was an Italian politician, member of the Christian Democracy, who served as 36th Prime Minister of Italy from March to July 1960. He also served as Minister of the Interior from ...
, and Fanfani. In this role, Rumor contributed to the definition of one of the first plans for the development and innovation of the national agricultural sector, the so-called "Green Plan". In 1963 election, the DC suffered a sharp decline of consensus. Rumor was appointed
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
in the short-lived government chaired by Giovanni Leone. As minister, he had to face one of the most tragic events in Italian republican history, the
Vajont Dam The Vajont Dam (or Vaiont Dam) is a disused dam in northern Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of . It is in the valley of the Vajont River under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e Casso, north of Venice. ...
disaster. On 9 October 1963, a landslide occurred on
Monte Toc Monte Toc, nicknamed the walking mountain by locals due to its tendency to experience landslides, is a mountain on the border between Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Northern Italy best known for the Vajont Dam, which was built at the mountai ...
, in the province of
Pordenone Pordenone (; Venetian and fur, Pordenon) is the main ''comune'' of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The name comes from Latin ''Portus Naonis'', meaning 'port on the Noncello (Latin ''Naon'') River'. ...
. The landslide caused a
megatsunami A megatsunami is a very large wave created by a large, sudden displacement of material into a body of water. Megatsunamis have quite different features from ordinary tsunamis. Ordinary tsunamis are caused by underwater tectonic activity (movemen ...
in the artificial lake in which 50 million cubic metres of water overtopped the dam in a wave of , leading to the complete destruction of several villages and towns, and 1,917 deaths. In the previous months, the Adriatic Society of Electricity (SADE) and the Italian government, which both owned the dam, dismissed evidence and concealed reports describing the geological instability of Monte Toc on the southern side of the basin and other early warning signs reported prior to the disaster. Immediately after the disaster, government and local authorities insisted on attributing the tragedy to an unexpected and unavoidable natural event. However, numerous warnings, signs of danger, and negative appraisals had been disregarded in the previous months and the eventual attempt to safely control the landslide into the lake by lowering its level came when the landslide was almost imminent and was too late to prevent it. The communist newspaper ''
L'Unità ''l'Unità'' (, lit. 'the Unity') was an Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, Democrats of the ...
'' was the first to denounce the actions of management and government.


Secretary of Christian Democracy

In January 1964, Rumor was elected the DC secretary, holding the office until January 1969 and leading the party in a complex phase of government cooperation with the socialists. In the five years leading the DC, Rumor tried to reassure the moderate electorate, in an attempt to recover the consensus lost in the previous elections. Rumor embodied the typical characteristics of the Dorotheans: caution, moderation, the propensity for mediation rather than for decision, attention to practical and concrete topics, rather than to major strategies, the representation of the interests of the provincial
middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
, the privileged link with the public administration, with the Catholic world and with direct farmers. In the general elections of 1968, the DC managed to increase its votes, albeit slightly, gaining 39% of votes. This result was experienced as a success by the Rumor secretariat and he became a natural candidate for the leadership of the government.


First term as Prime Minister

On 13 December 1968, Mariano Rumor was sworn in as Prime Minister for the first time, leading a
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
composed of Christian Democrats, Socialists and Republicans. During his first term as Prime Minister, a number of progressive reforms were carried out. A law of 11 December 1969 extended access to higher education to all
student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
s holding a higher secondary school diploma. It was formerly limited to students who came from classical, and in some cases, scientific, curricula. A bill, approved on 30 April 1969 introduced broad provisions covering pensions under the general scheme. The multiplying coefficient was increased to 1.85%, applied to average earnings of the best 3 years in the last 5 years of work (maximum pension, after 40 years of contribution: 74% of previous earnings). A social pension was also introduced for people over the age of 65 with low incomes and not eligible for any type of pension. In addition, cost of living indexation for all pensions (with the exception of social pensions) was introduced. A law of 2 February 1970 extended earnings replacement benefits to artisan undertakings in the construction industry. In foreign policy, Rumor signed, on 28 January 1969, of the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...
. However, his first term as Prime Minister was deeply marked by the
Piazza Fontana massacre The Piazza Fontana bombing ( it, Strage di Piazza Fontana) was a terrorist attack that occurred on 12 December 1969 when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura (the National Agricultural Bank) in Piazza Fonta ...
, a
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
attack that occurred on 12 December 1969 when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of National Agrarian Bank in
Piazza Fontana The Piazza Fontana bombing ( it, Strage di Piazza Fontana) was a terrorist attack that occurred on 12 December 1969 when a bomb exploded at the headquarters of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura (the National Agricultural Bank) in Piazza Fonta ...
, Milan, killing 17 people and wounding 88. In the same afternoon, three more bombs were detonated in Rome and Milan, and another was found unexploded.Bull, Anna Cento and Cooke, Philip. ''Ending Terrorism in Italy'', Routledge, 2013
The attack was planned by a neo-fascist group, '' Ordine Nuovo'' ("New Order"), whose aim was to prevent the country falling into the hands of the left-wing by duping the public into believing the bombings were part of a communist insurgency. During his first term, Rumor led three different governments. From December 1968 to July 1969, the DC joined with the
Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...
(PSI) as well as the
Italian Republican Party The Italian Republican Party ( it, Partito Repubblicano Italiano, PRI) is a liberal and social-liberal political party in Italy. Founded in 1895, the PRI is the oldest political party still active in Italy. The PRI has old roots and a long histo ...
(PRI). Then, from August 1969 to February 1970 he led a DC-only government; its collapse led to a 45-day long period without government, with issues such as Italian divorce law and the status of the
Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...
(PCI) generating instability. After this period, which included an attempt by former 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 ...
to form a government, Rumor led a new coalition with the Socialist, Republican, and
Democratic Socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
parties from March until July 1970.


Interior Minister and assassination attempt

In 1972, Rumor was appointed
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
, in the government of
Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democra ...
. In 1973, Rumor was the target of an assassination attempt, planned by Gianfranco Bertoli, a self-described anarchist. Four were killed during the bombing, and 45 injured, while Rumor escaped alive from it. Bertoli was given a life-term in 1975. Bertoli was an informant of
SISMI Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Militare (abbreviated SISMI, ''Military Intelligence and Security Service'') was the military intelligence agency of Italy from 1977–2007. With the reform of the Italian Intelligence Services app ...
, the "Military Intelligence and Security Service", at the time. Court proceedings later showed that this connection was one of mistaken identity.


Second term as Prime Minister

After three years under
Emilio Colombo Emilio Colombo (11 April 1920 – 24 June 2013) was an Italian politician, member of the Christian Democracy, who served as Prime Minister of Italy from August 1970 to February 1972. During his long political career, Colombo held many offices ...
and
Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democra ...
's ministries, Rumor returned to the office of Prime Minister, first leading a coalition composed of Christian Democrats, Socialists, Republicans, and
Democratic Socialists Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...
from July 1973 to March 1974. After this government collapsed, Rumor formed a new coalition within two weeks, calling upon the Socialists and Democratic Socialists to join with DC from March until October 1974. During his second term, the Parliament approved a law on 2 March 1974, with which legal minimum for pensions was raised to 27.75% of the average industrial wage for 1973. A law of 16 July 1974 extended family allowances to INPS pensioners, in lieu of child supplements. While a bill of August 1974 extended hospital assistance to all those not previously covered by any scheme. Weathering a cabinet resignation in June 1974, Rumor's final cabinet would fall in October 1974 after failing to come to an agreement on how to deal with rising economic inflation.


After the premiership

In November 1974, Rumor was appointed
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 cou ...
in
Aldo Moro Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July ...
's fourth cabinet. During his ministry, he signed the Osimo Treaty with
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, defining the official partition of the
Free Territory of Trieste The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between northern Italy and Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under direct responsibility of the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath ...
. The port city of
Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
with a narrow coastal strip to the north west (Zone A) was given to Italy; a portion of the north-western part of the Istrian peninsula (Zone B) was given to Yugoslavia. The Italian government was harshly criticized for signing the treaty, particularly for the secretive way in which negotiations were carried out, skipping the traditional diplomatic channels. Italian nationalists of the MSI rejected the idea of giving up
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
, since Istria had been an ancient "Italian" region together with the Venetian region (''
Venetia et Histria Venetia et Histria (Latin: ''Regio X Venetia et Histria'') was an administrative subdivision in the northeast of Roman Italy. It was originally created by Augustus as the tenth ''regio'' in 7 AD alongside the nine other ''regiones''. The region h ...
''). Furthermore, Istria had belonged to Italy for 25 years between
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 ...
and the end of
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 opposin ...
, and the west coast of Istria had long had a sizeable Italian minority population. Some nationalist politicians called for the prosecution of Prime Minister Moro and Minister Rumor, for the crime of
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, as stated in Article 241 of the Italian Criminal Code, which mandated a life sentence for anybody found guilty of aiding and abetting a foreign power to exert its sovereignty on the national territory. The defeat in the 1975 regional elections led to the removal of
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 ...
from the party secretariat. Rumor was proposed by Moro as the new party secretary, but he was vetoed by some members of his own faction. Due to this veto, Rumor abandoned the Dorotheans, approaching the positions of the new secretary
Benigno Zaccagnini Benigno Zaccagnini (; 17 April 1912 – 5 November 1989) was an Italian politician and physician. Biography Born in Faenza, he graduated in Pediatrics in 1937. During World War II he acted as partisan, collaborating with Arrigo Boldrini in ...
. Following the Dorotheans' split, Rumor was slowly excluded from relevant positions in the party and in the government. In 1979, Mariano Rumor was elected in 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 ...
, where he later became Chair of the Political Affairs Committee in 1980, serving in that post until he left the European Parliament in 1984.


Death and legacy

Rumor died of a heart attack in
Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...
on 22 January 1990 at the age of 74. In the years since his death, Rumor's legacy has been widely debated. The
Lockheed bribery scandals The Lockheed bribery scandals encompassed a series of bribes and contributions made by officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed from the late 1950s to the 1970s in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft. The scandal caused consid ...
, of which Rumor was exonerated by the
Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...
, took place under his government and culminated in the trials of two former Defense ministers,
Luigi Gui Luigi Gui (26 September 1914 – 26 April 2010) was an Italian politician and philosopher. Biography Gui was born in Padua (Veneto). He graduated in philosophy at the Catholic University in Milan. He was an officer of the Alpini corps of ...
and
Mario Tanassi Mario Tanassi (17 March 1916 – 5 May 2007) was an Italian politician, who was several times Minister of the Italian Republic. In 1979 he was condemned by the Constitutional Court of Italy for his involvement in the Lockheed bribery scandal. Bio ...
. Rumor was implicated in the scandal after a Lockheed codebook referenced "Antelope Cobbler" as "Prime Minister", which could have been any of Rumor,
Aldo Moro Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July ...
, or then-President Giovanni Leone during the relevant time period. While Leone later resigned from the Presidency due to accusations of corruption, none of the three men were ever convicted of being "Antelope Cobbler". Others have criticized his Presidential Decree No. 1092, a measure which allowed Italian governmental workers to retire after nineteen and a half years of work or fourteen and a half years if they were a woman; such retirees were later termed "baby pensioners" by detractors. The program, instituted in 1973, was terminated in 1992. As of 2014 it was estimated that around half a million pensioners who benefited from the decree were still drawing an average of €1,500 per month.


Personal life

Rumor never married. During all his lifetime and even after his death, speculations arose around his possible
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
. However, Rumor had always denied these speculations, which would have ruined his career in a
social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...
party like the DC.Un premier omosessuale ed ex DC? Ecco chi era
''Giornalettissimo''


Electoral history


References


External links



, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rumor, Mariano 1915 births 1990 deaths People from Vicenza Italian Roman Catholics Foreign ministers of Italy Italian Ministers of the Interior Agriculture ministers of Italy Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Prime Ministers of Italy Politics of Italy