Bruno Villabruna
Encyclopedia
Bruno Villabruna was an Italian lawyer and liberal politician.
Born in Santa Giustina
, near Belluno
in the Veneto
, he was first elected to parliament in 1921. After the rise to power of the fascists, he joined, unlike many other liberals, the democratic opposition around old leader Giovanni Giolitti
and in 1924 refused to candidate himself in the fascist-led national union list. Dissolved all political parties in early 1925, he retired from political life and kept on being a lawyer.
In July 1943, with the Mussolini regime having been overthrown, he was appointed mayor of Turin, but had to resign after 45 days because of the German occupation. Liberated Northern Italy in 1945, he became a member of the Consulta Nazionale and in 1946 was elected to the Assemblea Costituente. He failed being elected to the first parliament of the Italian Republic in 1948, but few month later he was appointed Secretary General of the Italian Liberal Party (PLI), that went through a deep crisis caused by his extreme right-wing predecessor Roberto Lucifero. Villabruna tried to convince the left-wing dissident group Movimento Liberale Indipendente (MLI) led by Count Nicolò Carandini
to return into the ranks of PLI, which they had left in early 1948, but only in late 1951 this operation came to a successful conclusion.
In 1954 Villabruna became Minister of Industry and Trade in the Scelba government, and let the leadership of the Liberal Party to Giovanni Malagodi, with whom he came into serious quarrels few time later. In 1955 he left the PLI together with Carandini and was among the founders of the Radical Party
. From 1958 to 1960 he was Secretary General of this party, retiring definitely to private life after its dissolution in 1962.
Villabruna died in 1971 in Torre Pellice, Pinerolo.
Born in Santa Giustina
Santa Giustina
Santa Giustina is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km northwest of Venice and about 15 km southwest of Belluno....
, near Belluno
Belluno
Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...
in the Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, he was first elected to parliament in 1921. After the rise to power of the fascists, he joined, unlike many other liberals, the democratic opposition around old leader Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti was an Italian statesman. He was the 19th, 25th, 29th, 32nd and 37th Prime Minister of Italy between 1892 and 1921. A left-wing liberal, Giolitti's periods in office were notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive social reforms which improved the living standards of...
and in 1924 refused to candidate himself in the fascist-led national union list. Dissolved all political parties in early 1925, he retired from political life and kept on being a lawyer.
In July 1943, with the Mussolini regime having been overthrown, he was appointed mayor of Turin, but had to resign after 45 days because of the German occupation. Liberated Northern Italy in 1945, he became a member of the Consulta Nazionale and in 1946 was elected to the Assemblea Costituente. He failed being elected to the first parliament of the Italian Republic in 1948, but few month later he was appointed Secretary General of the Italian Liberal Party (PLI), that went through a deep crisis caused by his extreme right-wing predecessor Roberto Lucifero. Villabruna tried to convince the left-wing dissident group Movimento Liberale Indipendente (MLI) led by Count Nicolò Carandini
Nicolò Carandini
Count Nicolò Carandini was the first Italian ambassador to Britain after World War II.-Biography:Carandini was born at Como....
to return into the ranks of PLI, which they had left in early 1948, but only in late 1951 this operation came to a successful conclusion.
In 1954 Villabruna became Minister of Industry and Trade in the Scelba government, and let the leadership of the Liberal Party to Giovanni Malagodi, with whom he came into serious quarrels few time later. In 1955 he left the PLI together with Carandini and was among the founders of the Radical Party
Radical Party
-France:*Radical Party *Radical Party of the Left -Italy:*Radical Party *Radical Party *Italian Radicals *Radicals of the Left -Luxembourg:*Radical Party...
. From 1958 to 1960 he was Secretary General of this party, retiring definitely to private life after its dissolution in 1962.
Villabruna died in 1971 in Torre Pellice, Pinerolo.
Sources
- Blasberg, Christian, Die Liberale Linke und das Schicksal der Dritten Kraft im italienischen Zentrismus, 1947-1951. Frankfurt/Main 2008.