Moro, Aldo (äl`dō mô`rō), 1916–78, Italian political leader. A lawyer, he entered national politics in 1946, when he was elected to the constituent assembly as a member of the Christian Democratic party. As minister of justice (1955–57), he worked to reform the prison system, strengthening regulations forbidding corporal punishment and improving food, hygiene, and sanitary conditions. He was political secretary of the Christian Democratic party from 1959 to 1963. In Dec., 1963, he became prime minister, a post he held until 1968. He later served as minister of foreign affairs. During the 1970s, he was the leader of the effort to achieve a rapprochement with the Communist party. Moro was kidnapped and assassinated by the terrorist Red Brigades.

Bibliography

See R. Drake, The Aldo Moro Murder Case (1996).

Moro, Aldo

(born Sept. 23, 1916, Maglie, Italy—died May 9, 1978, near or in Rome) Italian politician and premier of Italy (1963–64, 1964–66, 1966–68, 1974–76, 1976). A professor of law at the University of Bari, he was elected to the legislature in 1946. He served in several cabinet posts, then became secretary of the Christian Democrat Party (1959–63). As premier of Italy, he included socialists in his coalition governments. In 1976 he became president of the Christian Democrats and remained influential in Italian politics. In 1978 he was kidnapped in Rome by the Red Brigades; after the government refused to release Red Brigades members on trial in Turin, he was murdered by his captors.