Spadolini, Giovanni

▪ 1995

      Italian politician (b. June 21, 1925, Florence, Italy—d. Aug. 4, 1994, Rome, Italy), was a prominent and respected elected official, editor, and author. Spadolini earned his law degree from the University of Florence, and at age 25 he joined the political science faculty there, eventually becoming professor of contemporary history. Concurrently, he served as a contributing author and political editor at several newspapers. In 1955 Spadolini was named editor of the Bologna daily Il Resto del Carlino, and in 1968 he moved to Milan to become the editor of the nation's largest circulation newspaper, the Corriere della Sera. In 1972 he embarked on a political career and was elected to the Senate as a member of the tiny Republican Party. Spadolini held several Cabinet positions in various coalition governments until 1979, when he gained leadership of the party. In 1981 a scandal centred on a powerful Freemasons lodge known as Propaganda Due led to the collapse of the government, and in June 1981 Spadolini put together the first of two five-party coalitions in which he would serve as prime minister. Spadolini, the first non-Christian Democrat to head the government in 35 years, held power until November 1982. He served as defense minister from 1983 to 1987 and was elected speaker of the Senate in 1987. Although he was one of the few veteran politicians to emerge unscathed from the political scandals that had rocked the system, Spadolini lost the speaker's post by one vote in April 1994 to a member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's party. While confined to the hospital, Spadolini completed the last of his more than 60 books, which spanned a range of topics. Several weeks before his death, he told an aide, "The sickness that afflicts me is called Italy."

* * *