Amintore Fanfani

Fanfani, Amintore 

Born Feb. 6, 1908, in Pieve Santo Stefano, in the province of Arezzo. Italian statesman and political figure. A leader of the Christian Democratic Party (CDP).

Fanfani, who holds a doctorate in economics, is the author of several works on the history of economic theory. His political career began in 1946, when he was elected to the Constituent Assembly. Between 1947 and 1968 he headed several ministries, including labor and social security (1947–50), agriculture and forestry (1951–53), the interior (1953), and foreign affairs (1965–68). During that period, Fanfani served as prime minister three times, in 1954, from 1958 to 1959, and from 1960 to 1963. In 1968 he was elected to a five-year term as president of the Senate. Nominated to the national leadership of the CDP in 1946, Fanfani served as the party’s political secretary from 1954 to 1959 and again from 1973 to 1975.

As a leader of the CDP, Fanfani urged the party to assume a dominant political role in Italian society. During the 1960’s he helped effect the CDP’s shift toward center-left policies, advancing a program of social and economic reforms. During the early 1970’s, however, he welcomed the party’s return to the right and to an openly anticommunist line. In 1976, Fanfani was elected head of the CDP’s National Council. In June of that year, he became president of the Senate.