Demetrio Volcic
Encyclopedia
Demetrio Volcic, also known in Slovene as Mitja Volčič (born 22 November 1931) is an Italian
journalist
, author
, and politician
of Slovenia
n descent. He rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s as foreign correspondent for the Italian television RAI
. In the late 1990s, he served as member of the Italian Senate
, and later as Member of European Parliament for the European Socialist Party. He currently resides in Trieste
.
, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(now the capital of Slovenia
). His parents were Slovene political immigrants from the Italian-administered Julian March
who had moved to Yugoslavia in order to avoid the repressive policies of Fascist Italianization. Despite coming from a Roman Catholic background, his parents sent him to a Serbian Orthodox elementary school in Ljubljana. After the end of World War II
, his parents moved back to Trieste
, where Dimitrij finished a Slovene language high school. He studied economy at the University of Trieste
.
Already in his student years, he became involved in journalism. In 1956, he moved to Rome
, where he worked for the Italian national broadcast RAI
. Due to his knowledge of Slavic languages
and interest in Eastern Europe
, he was sent as a reporter to the Communist bloc. He worked as a foreign correspondent in Prague
, Vienna
, Moscow
, and finally Bonn
. He also wrote for several Italian journals, including La Stampa
, La Repubblica
, L'Indipendente. He also wrote regular columns for the Primorski dnevnik
, the Slovene language daily newspaper of Trieste.
Between 1993 and 1994, he served as director of TG1
, at the time the most watched news program
in Italy.
Between 1994 and 1996, he taught political sciences at the University of Trieste
.
to the Italian Senate
after the death of the senator Darko Bratina
. He ran as an independent candidate with the support of the Democratic Party of the Left
. In 1999, he was elected to the European Parliament
on the list of the Democrats of the Left
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n descent. He rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s as foreign correspondent for the Italian television RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
. In the late 1990s, he served as member of the Italian Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
, and later as Member of European Parliament for the European Socialist Party. He currently resides in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
.
Early life and journalist career
He was born as Dimitrij Volčič in LjubljanaLjubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
(now the capital of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
). His parents were Slovene political immigrants from the Italian-administered Julian March
Julian March
The Julian March is a former political region of southeastern Europe on what are now the borders between Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy...
who had moved to Yugoslavia in order to avoid the repressive policies of Fascist Italianization. Despite coming from a Roman Catholic background, his parents sent him to a Serbian Orthodox elementary school in Ljubljana. After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, his parents moved back to Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, where Dimitrij finished a Slovene language high school. He studied economy at the University of Trieste
University of Trieste
The University of Trieste is a medium-sized university in Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. The university consists of 12 faculties, boasts a wide and almost complete range of university courses and currently has about 23,000 students enrolled and 1,000 professors...
.
Already in his student years, he became involved in journalism. In 1956, he moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he worked for the Italian national broadcast RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
. Due to his knowledge of Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
and interest in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, he was sent as a reporter to the Communist bloc. He worked as a foreign correspondent in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, and finally Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
. He also wrote for several Italian journals, including La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
, La Repubblica
La Repubblica
la Repubblica is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. Founded in 1976 in Rome by the journalist Eugenio Scalfari, as of 2008 is the second largest circulation newspaper, behind the Corriere della Sera.-Foundation:...
, L'Indipendente. He also wrote regular columns for the Primorski dnevnik
Primorski dnevnik
Primorski dnevnik is a Slovene language daily newspaper published in Trieste, Italy. It is the only Slovene daily in any country other than Slovenia, and one of the three newspapers in Italy published in a language other than Italian...
, the Slovene language daily newspaper of Trieste.
Between 1993 and 1994, he served as director of TG1
TG1
TG1 is the brand for Italian state-owned TV channel Rai 1's news programmes. They are shown domestically on Rai Uno and across the Europe on Rai News 24 and the world on Raitalia several times throughout the day...
, at the time the most watched news program
News program
A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...
in Italy.
Between 1994 and 1996, he taught political sciences at the University of Trieste
University of Trieste
The University of Trieste is a medium-sized university in Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. The university consists of 12 faculties, boasts a wide and almost complete range of university courses and currently has about 23,000 students enrolled and 1,000 professors...
.
Political career
Volcic entered politics in 1997, when he successfully ran for by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
to the Italian Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
after the death of the senator Darko Bratina
Darko Bratina
Darko Bratina was an Italian sociologist, film theorist and politician of Slovene ethnicity. Between 1992 and 1997, he served as member of the Italian Senate.- Early life and intellectual endeavours :...
. He ran as an independent candidate with the support of the Democratic Party of the Left
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left was a post-communist, democratic socialist political party in Italy.-History:...
. In 1999, he was elected to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
on the list of the Democrats of the Left
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
.