Ermenegildo "Gildo" Gasperoni (4 August 1906 – 26 June 1994)[1] was aSammarinese politician. He served as the general secretary and, later, chairman of theSammarinese Communist Party.[2][3]
Gasperoni was the son of an artisan fromSan Marino.[4] In his youth, he left the country in 1924.[5] He joined theFrench Communist Party in 1926. He was an activist of theCommunist Party of Luxembourg between 1930 and 1936. He joined theInternational Brigades during theSpanish Civil War, serving aspolitical commissar of theGaribaldi Battalion in the Twelfth International Brigade. He later shifted to serve as the political commissar of the international centre for recruiting and training volunteers.[4]
He returned to his homeland in 1940, beginning to work towards the foundation of the Sammarinese Communist Party. TheItalian Communist Party had organized a local branch in San Marino in 1921, but the country did not have a communist party of its own. On 7 July 1941 the Sammarinese Communist Party was founded under Gasperoni's leadership.[5] As of 1949, he was the Minister of Transport in the communist-socialist coalition government. Apart from his political labours, he also worked as an auto mechanic inBorgo Maggiore at this time.[6]
Gasperoni represented the Sammarinese Communist Party at different international events, such as the1969 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties inMoscow and the1976 Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe inBerlin.[7][8] At both of these events Gasperoni voiced criticisms against the policies of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union.[8][9]
In 1978, Gasperoni was elected to serve a six-month term as one of the twoCaptains Regent (i.e., co-heads of state of San Marino), along with the socialistAdriano Reffi.[10][11] With Gasperoni San Marino had a communist head of state for the first time in two decades.[11]
During a visit to theSoviet Union in January 1983, Gasperoni and the Sammarinese Communist Party general secretaryUmberto Barulli were decorated with theOrder of Friendship of Peoples at a ceremony in theKremlin.[3] As of the 1980s, Gasperoni had been named honorary chairman of the Sammarinese Communist Party.[12][13]