Guido Gonella

Summary

Guido Gonella (18 September 1905 – 19 August 1982) was an Italian politician from the Christian Democracy, former Minister of Public Education and Minister of Justice.

Guido Gonella
Minister of Public Education
In office
13 July 1946 – 19 July 1951
Prime MinisterAlcide De Gasperi
Preceded byEnrico Molè
Succeeded byAntonio Segni
Minister of Justice
In office
16 July 1953 – 17 August 1953
Prime MinisterAlcide De Gasperi
Preceded byAdone Zoli
Succeeded byAntonio Azara
In office
19 May 1957 – 21 February 1962
Prime MinisterAdone Zoli
Amintore Fanfani
Antonio Segni
Fernando Tambroni
Preceded byAldo Moro
Succeeded byGiacinto Bosco
In office
24 June 1968 – 12 December 1968
Prime MinisterGiovanni Leone
Preceded byOronzo Reale
Succeeded bySilvio Gava
In office
18 February 1972 – 8 July 1973
Prime MinisterGiulio Andreotti
Preceded byEmilio Colombo (as PM)
Succeeded byMario Zagari
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
25 June 1945 – 24 May 1972
Member of the Senate
In office
24 May 1972 – 19 August 1982
Personal details
Born(1905-09-18)18 September 1905
Verona, Italy
Died19 August 1982(1982-08-19) (aged 76)
Nettuno, Italy
Political partyChristian Democracy
Alma materUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Sapienza University of Rome
OccupationPolitician, academic, journalist

Biography edit

Academic career edit

Gonella graduated in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan and in Law at the Sapienza University of Rome, teaching a few years later Philosophy of law at the University of Bari and at the University of Pavia.[1]

Journalistic career edit

He later became a columnist of L'Osservatore Romano,[1] receiving the task of talking about the foreign affairs[2] by Bishop Giovanni Montini, the future Pope Paul VI.[3] However, Gonella was kept under control by the political police for suspected anti-fascism: several times the fascist hierarchy asked Benito Mussolini to suppress the Vatican newspaper, but L'Osservatore Romano belonged to the Holy See and therefore could not be suppressed by the Italian government.

On 3 September 1939, a few days after the beginning of World War II, Gonella was arrested by the fascists and brought to Regina Coeli, being freed only after the intervention of Pope Pius XII.[1] Though he returned to L'Osservatore Romano, he was forbidden to teach in Universities.

Political career edit

Before the World War II, Gonella began to work with Alcide De Gasperi[3] and took part in the drawing of the Code of Camaldoli, the document planning of economic policy by members of the Italian Catholic forces.[4] In 1943, Gonella joined the new-born party Christian Democracy,[5] with which he was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1945, to the Chamber of Deputies from 1948 to 1968 and to the Senate from 1972 to 1979.

From 1950 to 1953 he has also been elected Secretary of the Christian Democracy.[3]

He has been the first Minister of Public Education of the Italian Republic in the Cabinets led by Alcide De Gasperi[6] and has been many times, over a period of 20 years, Minister of Justice.[7]

During the 1978 presidential election, Gonella was the candidate of the Christian Democracy for the office of President of Italy, until the party decided, together with all the left-wing and centre-left parties in Parliament, to support the Socialist candidate Sandro Pertini.[8]

Death edit

Gonella died in Nettuno, near Rome, at the age of 76, on 19 August 1982, exactly 28 years after the death of Alcide De Gasperi.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "La penna di Guido Gonella che firmò la storia d'Italia". larena.it. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Dalla Torre, un'autonomia invisa al regime". Avvenire. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "La lezione di Gonella". larena.it. 10 June 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Codice di Camaldoli". ReportersPress.it. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  5. ^ "20 Aprile 1946: A Roma il primo congresso nazionale della Democrazia cristiana". Il Messaggero. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  6. ^ Michele Corsi, Roberto Sani (2004). L'educazione alla democrazia tra passato e presente [Education for democracy between past and present] (in Italian). Milan: Vita e Pensiero. ISBN 9788834311240.
  7. ^ Giuseppe Dalla Torre (2009). Guido Gonella e le origini della Costituzione [Guido Gonella and the origins of the Constitution] (in Italian). Rome: Aracne editrice. ISBN 9788854827721.
  8. ^ "Sandro Pertini, 25 anni fa se ne andava il presidente più amato dagli italiani". RaiNews.it. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Uno splendido guardasigilli: Gonella". 30giorni.it. 1 September 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2018.

External links edit

  • Files about his parliamentary activities (in Italian): Constituent Assembly, I, II, III, IV, V, VI,VII, VIII legislature