Scelba, Mario

▪ Italian politician

born Sept. 5, 1901, Caltagirone, Sicily, Italy

died Oct. 29, 1991, Rome

      Italian lawyer and Christian Democrat politician who was premier, 1954–55.

      A graduate of the University of Rome, Scelba began his political career in the Popular Party. When this party was suppressed in 1923 for opposing the Fascists, Scelba retired to private life. In 1943 the party was reborn as the Christian Democrats (Italian Popular Party). Scelba was their chief counselor beginning in 1944.

      Elected to the Constitutional Assembly (1946), Scelba held a succession of cabinet posts. As premier (1954–55), Scelba tried to steer a middle course between left and right. He was one of the last influential Christian Democrats to oppose the inclusion of the leftist Socialists in government coalitions and was eventually dropped from Amintore Fanfani's cabinet for that reason (1962). As interior minister in the late 1940s and early '50s, Scelba was infamous for his hard line against the Communists and labour unions. He expelled ex-partisans from the police force and cracked down on leftist organizations and demonstrations, often through the use of excessive violence.

      An Italian statute defining and banning fascism in any of its phases is known as the Scelba Law.

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