Emilio Colombo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Prime Minister of Italy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 August 1970 – 18 February 1972 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Giuseppe Saragat Giovanni Leone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Francesco De Martino | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mariano Rumor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Giulio Andreotti | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th President of the European Parliament | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 8 March 1977 – 17 July 1979 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Georges Spénale | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Simone Veil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1920-04-11)11 April 1920 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 24 June 2013(2013-06-24) (aged 93) Rome, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Christian Democracy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Sapienza University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emilio Colombo (Italian:[eˈmiːljokoˈlombo]; 11 April 1920 – 24 June 2013) was an Italian politician. A member of theChristian Democracy party, he served asPrime Minister of Italy from August 1970 to February 1972. In 2003, he was appointedsenator for life, a seat he held until his death.[1]
During his long political career, Colombo held many offices in several governments. He served asMinister of Agriculture from 1955 to 1958;Minister of Foreign Trade [it] 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 from 1988 to 1989; andMinister of Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1983 and from 1992 to 1993. A ferventEuropeanist, he also served aspresident of the European Parliament from 1977 to 1979.[2]
Colombo was born inPotenza,Basilicata, on 11 April 1920.[3] He grew up, along with his six brothers, in a middle-class family; his father, Angelo Colombo, was a public administration official, while his mother, Rosa Tordella, was a housewife.[4]
In 1935, he founded the first local section ofCatholic Action (AC), a widespread Catholic association and one of the few non-fascist organizations, admitted by the regime ofBenito Mussolini. In 1937, Colombo became the president of Potenza's Catholic Action and a member of the National Council of Catholic Action's Youth. In the same year, he obtained theclassical lyceum diploma at the high school entitled toQuintus Horatius Flaccus in Potenza.
In 1941, Colombo graduated in law at theSapienza University of Rome, with a thesis oncanon law.[5] On 1 August 1942, he was enrolled and took part in theWorld War II. In September 1943, after the armistice, Colombo returned to Basilicata, starting his political commitment based onanti-fascist andChristian democratic principles. From 1944 to 1947, he was appointed general secretary ofAzione Cattolica's youth wing.
Colombo entered politics as a member of theChristian Democracy (DC) party in 1943.[6][7] In the1946 Italian general election, Colombo was elected to theConstituent Assembly of Italy with nearly 21,000 votes, becoming one of the youngest members of theItalian Parliament.[8] He was elected for the constituency ofPotenza–Matera, which would remain his stronghold for all his political career.[9]
After two years, in the1948 Italian general election, Colombo was re-elected in the country'sChamber of Deputies for his constituency with more than 43,000 votes.[10] From May 1948 to July 1951, he was appointed undersecretary to theMinistry of Agriculture and Forests in the 5th and 6th governments ofAlcide De Gasperi.[11][12]
During these years, Colombo was involved in a successful mediation inCalabria in 1949 during clashes for the occupation of the lands by peasants. He also collaborated with MinisterAntonio Segni in the approval of the agrarian reform. Theland reform, approved by the parliament in October 1950, was financed in part by the funds of theMarshall Plan launched by the United States in 1947 and considered by some scholars as the most important reform of the entire post-war period.[13] 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.[14] 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. This negative element was mitigated and in some cases eliminated by forms ofcooperatives.[15]
A number of progressive reforms were introduced during Colombo's time as prime minister. A housing reform law began on 22 October 1971.[16]
Between 1977 and 1979, Colombo was the president of theEuropean Parliament. From 1980 to 1983 and again from 1992 to 1993, he was the foreign minister of Italy.[6]
In 2003, then presidentCarlo Azeglio Ciampi bestowed Italy's highest political honour on him by nominating him senator for life.[6] In the first five years as a lifetime senator, he was anindependent politician. From 2008 until his death in June 2013, Colombo was a member of theFor the Autonomies group, formed mainly by elects inTrentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. After the inconclusive2023 Italian general election and the following difficulties of theSenate of the Republic in electing a presiding officer, Colombo became its provisional president until the election ofPietro Grasso on 16 March 2013. The oldest senator, former prime ministerGiulio Andreotti, was due to inaugurate the new legislature, but his unavailability benefited Colombo. After the death of Andreotti on 6 May 2013, Colombo became the last surviving member of theItalian Constituent Assembly.[6]
In November 2003, Colombo admitted to having used cocaine for therapeutic purposes over a 12- to 18-month period.[17][18] He died in Rome on 24 June 2013 at the age of 93.[9][19]
| Election | House | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Constituent Assembly | Potenza–Matera | DC | 20,922 |  YElected | |
| 1948 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 43,691 | YElected | |
| 1953 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 54,288 | YElected | |
| 1958 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 88,411 | YElected | |
| 1963 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 79,194 | YElected | |
| 1968 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 103,345 | YElected | |
| 1972 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 117,902 | YElected | |
| 1976 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 90,420 | YElected | |
| 1979 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 90,818 | YElected | |
| 1979 | European Parliament | Southern Italy | DC | 860,147 | YElected | |
| 1983 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 105,345 | YElected | |
| 1987 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 105,047 | YElected | |
| 1989 | European Parliament | Southern Italy | DC | 364,541 | YElected | |
| 1992 | Chamber of Deputies | Potenza–Matera | DC | 31,850 | YElected | |
| 2001 | Senate of the Republic | Basilicata –Potenza | DE | 11,298 |  NNot elected | |
Media related toEmilio Colombo at Wikimedia Commons
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