Emilio Colombo

Emilio Colombo (11 April 1920 – 24 June 2013) was an Italian politician. A member of the Christian Democracy party, he served as Prime Minister of Italy from August 1970 to February 1972. In 2003, he was appointed senator for life, a seat he held until his death.

Senator for life Emilio Colombo
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
President of the European Parliament
In office 8 March 1977 – 17 July 1979
Preceded by	Georges Spénale
Succeeded by	Simone Veil
Ministerial offices Minister of Foreign Affairs In office 1 August 1992 – 28 April 1993 Prime Minister Giuliano Amato Preceded by Vincenzo Scotti Succeeded by Beniamino Andreatta In office 4 April 1980 – 4 August 1983 Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani Giovanni Spadolini Amintore Fanfani Preceded by Attilio Ruffini Succeeded by Giulio Andreotti Minister of Finance In office 13 April 1988 – 23 July 1989 Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita Preceded by Antonio Gava Succeeded by Rino Formica Minister of Budget In office 29 July 1987 – 13 April 1988 Prime Minister Giovanni Goria Preceded by Giovanni Goria Succeeded by Amintore Fanfani In office 25 June 1968 – 13 December 1968 Prime Minister Giovanni Leone Preceded by Giovanni Pieraccini Succeeded by Luigi Preti Minister of Treasury In office 15 March 1974 – 30 July 1976 Prime Minister Mariano Rumor Aldo Moro Preceded by Ugo La Malfa Succeeded by Gaetano Stammati In office 18 February 1972 – 26 June 1972 Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti Preceded by Mario Ferrari Aggradi Succeeded by Giovanni Malagodi In office 22 June 1963 – 6 August 1970 Prime Minister Giovanni Leone Aldo Moro Mariano Rumor Preceded by Roberto Tremelloni Succeeded by Mario Ferrari Aggradi Minister of Grace and Justice In office 6 March 1971 – 17 February 1972 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Oronzo Reale Succeeded by Guido Gonella Minister of Foreign Trade In office 2 July 1958 – 16 February 1959 Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani Preceded by Guido Carli Succeeded by Rinaldo Del Bo Minister of Agriculture In office 6 July 1955 – 2 July 1958 Prime Minister Antonio Segni Adone Zoli Preceded by Giuseppe Medici Succeeded by Mario Ferrari Aggradi Mayor of Potenza In office 14 June 1952 – 14 January 1955 Preceded by Pietro Scognamiglio Succeeded by Vincenzo Solimena
Member of the Parliament Member of the Senate Life tenure 14 January 2003 – 24 June 2013 Appointed by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Member of the European Parliament In office 25 July 1989 – 19 July 1994 Constituency Southern Italy In office 17 July 1979 – 24 July 1984 Constituency Southern Italy Member of the Chamber of Deputies In office 8 May 1948 – 9 September 1992 Constituency Potenza–Matera Member of the Constituent Assembly In office 25 June 1946 – 31 January 1948 Constituency Potenza–Matera
Personal details
Born	(1920-04-11)11 April 1920 Potenza, Kingdom of Italy
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

During his long political career, Colombo held many offices in several governments. He served as Minister of Agriculture from 1955 to 1958; Minister of Foreign Trade 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; and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1983 and from 1992 to 1993. A fervent Europeanist, he also served as president of the European Parliament from 1977 to 1979.

Early life and education

Colombo was born in Potenza, Basilicata, on 11 April 1920. He grew up, along with his six brothers, in a middle-class family; his father, Angelo Colombo, was a public administration's official, while his mother, Rosa Tordella, was a housewife.

In 1935, he founded the first local section of Catholic Action (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 high school entitled to Quintus Horatius Flaccus in Potenza.

In 1941, Colombo graduated in law at the Sapienza University of Rome, with a thesis on canon law. On 1 August 1942, he was enrolled and took part in the World War II. 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 Azione Cattolica's youth wing.

Political career

Colombo entered politics as a member of the Christian Democracy (DC) party in 1943. In the 1946 Italian general election, Colombo was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Italy with nearly 21,000 votes, becoming one of the youngest members of the Italian Parliament. He was elected for the constituency of Potenza–Matera, which would remain his stronghold for all his political career.

Colombo with Alcide De Gasperi and Antonio Segni in the early 1950s

After two years, in the 1948 Italian general election, Colombo was re-elected in the country's 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 and 6th governments of Alcide De Gasperi.

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 in the approving of the agrarian reform. The land reform, approved by the parliament in October 1950, was financed in part by the funds of the Marshall Plan 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. This negative element was mitigated and in some cases eliminated by forms of cooperatives.

Prime Minister of Italy

Colombo with Ronald Reagan in 1981

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.

Colombo in 2003

Between 1977 and 1979, Colombo was the president of the European Parliament. From 1980 to 1983 and again from 1992 to 1993, he was foreign minister of Italy.

Later life

In 2003, then president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi 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 politician. From 2008 until his death in June 2013, Colombo was a member of the For the Autonomies group, formed mainly by elects in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. After the inconclusive 2023 Italian general election and the following difficulties of the Senate of the Republic in electing a presiding officer, Colombo became its provisional president 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 Andreotti on 6 May 2013, Colombo became the last surviving member of the Italian Constituent Assembly.

Personal life

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

Honours and awards

• France: Grand Officier of the Legion of Honour
• Iran: Commemorative Medal of the 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire
• Italy: Knight of Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
• Italy: Grand Cross of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
• EU: Gold Medal of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe, 2011

Electoral history

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1946	Constituent Assembly	Potenza–Matera		DC	20,922	Y Elected
1948	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	43,691	Y Elected
1953	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	54,288	Y Elected
1958	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	88,411	Y Elected
1963	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	79,194	Y Elected
1968	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	103,345	Y Elected
1972	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	117,902	Y Elected
1976	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	90,420	Y Elected
1979	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	90,818	Y Elected
1979	European Parliament	Southern Italy		DC	860,147	Y Elected
1983	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	105,345	Y Elected
1987	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	105,047	Y Elected
1989	European Parliament	Southern Italy		DC	364,541	Y Elected
1992	Chamber of Deputies	Potenza–Matera		DC	31,850	Y Elected
2001	Senate of the Republic	Basilicata – Potenza		DE	11,298	N Not elected

External links

• The Archives of Emilio Colombo are consultable at Fondazione Luigi Sturzo, Roma and at the Historical Archives of the European Union.

• Media related to Emilio Colombo at Wikimedia Commons