page_title: Amintore Fanfani
section_title: Minister and President of the Senate
hierarchical_section_title: Amintore Fanfani / Minister and President of the Senate
caption_attribution_description: English: Amintore Fanfani
context_page_description: Amintore Fanfani was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as 32nd Prime Minister of Italy for five separate terms. He was one of the best-known Italian politicians after the Second World War, and a historical figure of the left-wing faction of Christian Democracy. He is also considered as one of the founders of modern Italian centre-left.
  Beginning as a protégé of Alcide De Gasperi, Fanfani achieved cabinet rank at a young age and occupied all the major offices of state over the course of a forty-year political career. In foreign policy, he was one of the most vocal supporters of European integration and established closer relations with the Arab world. In domestic policy, he was known for his cooperation with the Italian Socialist Party, which bring to an alliance which radically renewed the country, thanks to numerous reforms, including the nationalization of Enel, the extension of compulsory education and the introduction of a more progressive tax system.
  Fanfani served in numerous ministerial positions, including Minister of the Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Labour, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.
context_section_description: In August 1964, President Antonio Segni suffered a serious cerebral hemorrhage while he was working at the presidential palace; he only partially recovered and decided to resign. Fanfani tried to be elected president, running against DC's official candidate, Giovanni Leone. However, neither Fanfani nor Leone succeeded in being elected, in fact, during the 1964 presidential election, the social-democratic leader Giuseppe Saragat succeeded in gaining the majority of votes. Fanfani's reckless action against Leone caused him even more enmities.
  In March 1965, Fanfani was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, during the second government of Aldo Moro. In December 1965, he was forced to resign after the publication of an unauthorized interview, in which he harshly criticised the government and the United States. However, after only two months, he returned to the office in Moro's third cabinet. During his ministry, he implemented a strong pro-European politics, advocating a strengthen of the European Economic Community (EEC). Moreover, he was a vocal opponent of US bombing on civilians during the Vietnam War. Fanfani also continued implementing his pro-Arab policies in the Mediterranean Sea, and tried to built a closer relation with China. From 1965 to 1966, he also served as President of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the only Italian to have held this office.
  In the 1968 general election, Fanfani ran for the Senate of the Republic, being elected in the constituency of Arezzo, with 41,070 votes. On 5 June 1968, he was elected President of the Senate and remained in office until 26 June 1973.
  On 26 September 1968, Fanfani lost his wife, Biancarosa, who died in a car accident, at only 54-year-old.
  In March 1970, after the fall of Mariano Rumor's second cabinet, President Saragat gave Fanfani the task of forming a new center-left government, but his proposal to bring in the cabinet, all the parties' secretaries was not accepted, because was seen as an excessive way to strengthen the government, in contrast to the particracy which dominated Italian politics. On 27 March, Rumor sworn in as Prime Minister again.
  In the 1971 presidential election, Fanfani was proposed as Christian Democracy's candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. Once again the move failed, being weakened by the divisions within his own party and the candidacy of the socialist Francesco De Martino, who received votes from PCI, PSI and some PSDI members. Fanfani retired after several unsuccessful ballots and, at the twenty-third round, Giovanni Leone, who was Fanfani's rival in the 1964 election, was finally elected with a centre-right majority. On 10 March 1972, Leone appointed Fanfani Senator for life.
caption: Fanfani during the 1970s
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image ExifOffset": "38", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "162", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "215"}