Mario Oriani-Ambrosini
Encyclopedia
Mario Gaspare R. Oriani-Ambrosini is an Italian-American constitutional lawyer and politician, currently a Member of Parliament in South Africa
with the Inkatha Freedom Party
.
, an Italian jurist and politician.
Even though his adoptive father was a leader of the Democrazia Cristiana, Oriani-Ambrosini spent his teenage political activism in the shadow of the leader of the Italian radical, environmentalist and libertarian movement Marco Pannella
, a party with which Oriani-Ambrosini has maintained a lifelong association.
Oriani-Ambrosini attended the Sapienza University of Rome, Harvard University
and Georgetown University
Law Center. While at Rome University he conducted research under the direction of the then-Secretary of the Italian Parliament Guglielmo Negri for the Consiglio Nationale Ricerche and the Italian House of Representatives Camera dei Deputati on the U.S. environmental system and the National Environmental Policy Act
to support the drafting of an EEC directive and assess its compatibility with the Italian constitutional framework.
Having won a Fulbright scholarship, Oriani-Ambrosini relocated to the US to specialize in constitutional law and international financial and commercial law. In 1986 he became assistant to Rutger University law professor Albert P. Blaunstein, an international constitutional consultant. He subsequently became the Vice President of the Philadelphia Foundation and the public advocacy law firm Human Rights Advocates International, both presided over by Blaunstein. In such capacity Oriani-Ambrosini engaged in constitutional negotiation, lobbying, and public interest litigation in respect of Nicaragua
(electoral law), the Russian Federation (preparation of the first draft constitution), Canada
(position of Indian tribes in the national constitution and the tribes’ own constitutions), Uganda
, Fiji
(constitution drafting), Rumania (representing Alliancia Civica), Poland
, Rom Nation, Italy
(constitutional reports), the Moluccan Nation (Government in exile), Macedonia (representing VMRO), Cuba
(shadow Government), Tibet
(Government in Exile), proposed State of Humania, Seychelles
(constitutional advisor to Sir James Mancham
) and the then Zaire (Advisor to Paramount Chief Logotongo III). He also acted as a legal advisor to the Rehoboth Basters of Namibia
with respect to land claims and regional autonomy, and the Afrikaner
cultural institutions known as "Cultura 2000" in the first challenge on the constitutionality of a law, and in the challenge to single medium-of-instruction education. Oriani-Ambrosini also collaborated to the constant upkeep of the Blaunstein’s 60+ volume collections of “The Constitutions of the World”, and “Constitutions of Dependencies and Territories”
Besides his activities in politics and constitutional law he also worked as a commercial lawyer and businessman, working for the law firm of Hanna, Gaspar & Birkel and as the General Counsel of the Washington D.C Knop Organization.
In 1991 he began working for the South African political leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
and his Inkatha Freedom Party
(IFP), acting as a legal advisor during his negotiations in the context of the country's constitutional change from apartheid to democracy, and subsequently, when Buthelezi became Minister of Home Affairs in Nelson Mandela
's Government of National Unity, as Buthelezi's Cabinet Advisor. He was actively involved in drafting new South African immigration policies, creating a new electronic population registry ("HANIS") and other Home Affairs issues.
Oriani-Ambrosini left the South African Government in May 2004 to reopen his Washington, DC office and establish Ambrosini & Associates, a legal and business consultancy, while continuing work as an advisor to Buthelezi. In 2009, he became a Member of the South African Parliament, where he serves on the Trade & Industry, Public Enterprises, Economic Development, and Justice & Constitutional Development Portfolio Committees and on the Finance and Rules, and Private Members Bills, and the Constitutional Review Joint Committee.
Oriani-Ambrosini has maintained his legal practice in the States, albeit by remote control as well as a standing political association with the US libertarian movement centered around Ron Paul
.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
with the Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
.
Biography
Mario Oriani-Ambrosini was born in Rome, Italy on October 26, 1960. He was the son of law professor Raffaele Oriani, who died in 1971 at the age of 39. Oriani-Ambrosini was then adopted and educated by his grand-uncle Gaspare AmbrosiniGaspare Ambrosini
Gaspare Ambrosini was an Italian jurist and statesman. He died in Rome in 1986, less than three months away from his 100th birthday.-Career and contributions:...
, an Italian jurist and politician.
Even though his adoptive father was a leader of the Democrazia Cristiana, Oriani-Ambrosini spent his teenage political activism in the shadow of the leader of the Italian radical, environmentalist and libertarian movement Marco Pannella
Marco Pannella
Giacinto Pannella, better known as Marco Pannella is an Italian politician.He is the historic leader of the Italian Radicals...
, a party with which Oriani-Ambrosini has maintained a lifelong association.
Oriani-Ambrosini attended the Sapienza University of Rome, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
Law Center. While at Rome University he conducted research under the direction of the then-Secretary of the Italian Parliament Guglielmo Negri for the Consiglio Nationale Ricerche and the Italian House of Representatives Camera dei Deputati on the U.S. environmental system and the National Environmental Policy Act
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....
to support the drafting of an EEC directive and assess its compatibility with the Italian constitutional framework.
Having won a Fulbright scholarship, Oriani-Ambrosini relocated to the US to specialize in constitutional law and international financial and commercial law. In 1986 he became assistant to Rutger University law professor Albert P. Blaunstein, an international constitutional consultant. He subsequently became the Vice President of the Philadelphia Foundation and the public advocacy law firm Human Rights Advocates International, both presided over by Blaunstein. In such capacity Oriani-Ambrosini engaged in constitutional negotiation, lobbying, and public interest litigation in respect of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
(electoral law), the Russian Federation (preparation of the first draft constitution), Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(position of Indian tribes in the national constitution and the tribes’ own constitutions), Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
(constitution drafting), Rumania (representing Alliancia Civica), Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Rom Nation, Italy
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...
(constitutional reports), the Moluccan Nation (Government in exile), Macedonia (representing VMRO), Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(shadow Government), Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
(Government in Exile), proposed State of Humania, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
(constitutional advisor to Sir James Mancham
James Mancham
Sir James Richard Marie Mancham KBE was the first President of Seychelles from 1976 to 1977.-Political background:...
) and the then Zaire (Advisor to Paramount Chief Logotongo III). He also acted as a legal advisor to the Rehoboth Basters of Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
with respect to land claims and regional autonomy, and the Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
cultural institutions known as "Cultura 2000" in the first challenge on the constitutionality of a law, and in the challenge to single medium-of-instruction education. Oriani-Ambrosini also collaborated to the constant upkeep of the Blaunstein’s 60+ volume collections of “The Constitutions of the World”, and “Constitutions of Dependencies and Territories”
Besides his activities in politics and constitutional law he also worked as a commercial lawyer and businessman, working for the law firm of Hanna, Gaspar & Birkel and as the General Counsel of the Washington D.C Knop Organization.
In 1991 he began working for the South African political leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
and his Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
(IFP), acting as a legal advisor during his negotiations in the context of the country's constitutional change from apartheid to democracy, and subsequently, when Buthelezi became Minister of Home Affairs in Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
's Government of National Unity, as Buthelezi's Cabinet Advisor. He was actively involved in drafting new South African immigration policies, creating a new electronic population registry ("HANIS") and other Home Affairs issues.
Oriani-Ambrosini left the South African Government in May 2004 to reopen his Washington, DC office and establish Ambrosini & Associates, a legal and business consultancy, while continuing work as an advisor to Buthelezi. In 2009, he became a Member of the South African Parliament, where he serves on the Trade & Industry, Public Enterprises, Economic Development, and Justice & Constitutional Development Portfolio Committees and on the Finance and Rules, and Private Members Bills, and the Constitutional Review Joint Committee.
Oriani-Ambrosini has maintained his legal practice in the States, albeit by remote control as well as a standing political association with the US libertarian movement centered around Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
.