Luigi Berlinguer (Italian pronunciation: [luˈiːdʒi berliŋˈɡwɛr]; 25 July 1932 – 1 November 2023) was an Italian jurist and politician. He was a professor at the University of Siena, and also served as the minister of university and research and the minister of education.

Luigi Berlinguer
Minister of Education
In office
17 May 1996 – 25 April 2000
Prime Minister
Preceded byGiancarlo Lombardi
Succeeded byTullio De Mauro
Parliamentary offices
Member of the European Parliament
In office
14 July 2009 – 1 July 2014
ConstituencyNorth-East Italy
Member of the Senate of the Republic
In office
30 May 2001 – 24 July 2002
ConstituencyTuscany
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
15 April 1994 – 29 May 2001
ConstituencyFlorence
In office
16 May 1963 – 4 June 1968
ConstituencyCagliari
Personal details
Born(1932-07-25)25 July 1932
Sassari, Kingdom of Italy
Died1 November 2023(2023-11-01) (aged 91)
Siena, Italy
Political party
  • PCI (until 1991)
  • PDS (1991–1998)
  • DS (1998–2007)
  • PD (2007–2023)
Alma materUniversity of Sassari

Early life and education edit

Berlinguer was born in Sassari, Sardinia, on 25 July 1932.[1] His brother, Sergio Berlinguer, was a diplomat and politician. They were cousins of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) leader Enrico Berlinguer, who died in 1984.[2] He obtained a law degree from the University of Sassari in 1955.[3]

Career edit

Berlinguer served as mayor of Sennori.[4] He was the rector of the University of Siena from 1985 to 1993, when he was appointed to the Ciampi Cabinet as minister of universities, science, and technology.[2] He was one of the three former PCI members in the cabinet.[2][5] He served as the minister of education between 1996 and 2000 in the cabinets led first by Romano Prodi and then by Massimo D'Alema.[6] He was also acting minister of universities, science, and technology from 1996 to October 1998.[7] He was succeeded by Ortensio Zecchino as minister.[8] In addition, he served in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic.[4]

As a member of the Democratic Party,[9] Berlinguer was elected as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009, sitting as part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.[9] In the European Parliament, he served as first vice-chair of the committee on legal affairs and as a member of the committee on culture and education beginning in 2009.[4]

Death edit

Berlinguer died on 1 November 2023, at the age of 91.[10][11]

Electoral history edit

Election House Constituency Party Votes Result
1963 Chamber of Deputies Cagliari–Sassari–Nuoro–Oristano PCI 16,633  Y Elected
1994 Chamber of Deputies Florence PDS 34,218  Y Elected
1996 Chamber of Deputies Florence PDS 40,850  Y Elected
2001 Senate of the Republic TuscanyPisa DS 78,361  Y Elected
2009 European Parliament North-East Italy PD 81,464  Y Elected

Source:[12]

Awards and honours edit

In 2011, Berlinguer received by the European Parliament the MEP award in the field of culture and education.[13]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Luigi Berlinguer". European Parliament. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Patricia Clough (29 April 1993). "Ex-Communists join Italy's reform government". The Independent. Rome. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Curriculum Vitae". European Parliament. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "SAA Conference" (PDF). Society of Audiovisual Authors. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  5. ^ Peggy Polk (29 April 1993). "Non-politician Puts Italy on Fresh Course". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Speakers". AIB-WEB. 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  7. ^ Susan Biggin (30 October 1998). "Reforms at Final Stage Under New Minister". Science. 282 (5390): 855–856. doi:10.1126/science.282.5390.855a. S2CID 152889980.
  8. ^ "Berlinguer bows out of ministry". Times Higher Education. 2 November 1998. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Luigi Berlinguer". Political Memory. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  10. ^ "Luigi Berlinguer has died: the former minister was hospitalized in Siena". L'Unione Sarda English. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  11. ^ "È morto Luigi Berlinguer, ex ministro dell'Istruzione". Il Post (in Italian). 1 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  12. ^ L'Archivio gov.it
  13. ^ Desmond Hinton-Beales (30 November 2011). "MEP awards 2011 winners announced". The Parliament. Archived from the original on 4 December 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". Quirinale.it (in Italian). Retrieved 1 November 2023.

External links edit