Oliviero Diliberto
Encyclopedia
Oliviero Diliberto is an Italian
politician. He is the current leader of the Party of Italian Communists
.
, his mother Lella was a teacher). His youth is scarred by the untimely death of his father in 1971, after which he had to be a fatherly role for his younger siblings: his sister Ludovica, then eight years old, and his brother Alessio, who was born just two months before.
Diliberto becomes involved with politics in 1969 at age 13, when he was in high school. It is a time of turmoil in Italian schools, and young Oliviero quickly rises through the ranks of the student movement during his University studies. He eventually becomes Secretary of the FGCI (Federation of Young Italian Communists, the youth organisation of the PCI
) for the province of Cagliari
in 1978, the same year of his graduation.
Fascinated by the philosophic thought of Michel Foucault
, after graduating from high school he traveled for Paris
where, to support himself, he briefly worked at the city morgue
, preparing corpses that had to undergo autopsy
.
From 1978 to 1986 he earns scholarships to further his law studies in Frankfurt
and in Rome
, then he works as researcher in the University of Cagliari
, where later he will reach the post of Professor of Roman Law
.
, Diliberto joined the Communist Refoundation Party after the breakup of his former party.
First elected as MP in 1994 for the Communist Refoundation Party, Diliberto left his party in 1998 in contrast with the leadership's line about a motion of no confidence
in which Romano Prodi
was defeated. So Diliberto, together with Armando Cossutta
and others, founded the Party of Italian Communists, of which he became the secretary. Diliberto then served as Minister of Justice in the first government of Massimo D'Alema
, becoming one of the only two party members which were part of that government. He maintained the position until 2000, leaving voluntarily in the reshuffle, in order to concentrate on the party.
On taking office as Minister of Justice, he declared to the press his pride in being "The second Communist appointed as Minister of Justice after Palmiro Togliatti
", and made a point of having the same desk previously used by the postwar Communist leader restored and placed in his office at the Ministry.
On November 2004 he was widely criticized for meeting with the leader of Hizbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah
, during a visit to Lebanon
. This prompted a protest note to the Italian Government from the Israeli Ambassador in Rome.
Before the April 2006 general election
held in Italy (and won by the centre-left coalition), he declared he would not serve as minister in case of a centre-left
win, and instead he would maintain his place as party leader, and so he has.
In May 2006 he was elected to the City Council of Rome
. He is currently professor of Roman Law
at the Faculty of Law of the "La Sapienza" University of Rome.
Before the April 2008 snap general election
(caused by the fall of the Prodi II Cabinet
), Diliberto refused candidacy to the Camera dei Deputati in the Torino costituency for the The Left – The Rainbow
left-wing alliance, which his party was participating to, on grounds of giving a chance to be elected to a junior party fellow - a steel worker in the local Thyssen-Krupp steelworks, where a fire on 6 December 2007 had killed seven colleagues.
After the disastrous results of both the 2008 general elections and of the 2009 European election, where the Italian left-wing parties failed to reach the minimum threshold
, Diliberto has been confirmed as party secretary, with a mandate to pursue unity of the left wing parties.
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...
politician. He is the current leader of the Party of Italian Communists
Party of Italian Communists
The Party of Italian Communists is a communist political party in Italy. Its long-time leader is Oliviero Diliberto.-Foundation and early years:...
.
Early life
Oliviero Diliberto was born in a family of public servants (his father Marco was employed as attorney in the Administration of the Region of SardiniaSardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, his mother Lella was a teacher). His youth is scarred by the untimely death of his father in 1971, after which he had to be a fatherly role for his younger siblings: his sister Ludovica, then eight years old, and his brother Alessio, who was born just two months before.
Diliberto becomes involved with politics in 1969 at age 13, when he was in high school. It is a time of turmoil in Italian schools, and young Oliviero quickly rises through the ranks of the student movement during his University studies. He eventually becomes Secretary of the FGCI (Federation of Young Italian Communists, the youth organisation of the PCI
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
) for the province of Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
in 1978, the same year of his graduation.
Fascinated by the philosophic thought of Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, after graduating from high school he traveled for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where, to support himself, he briefly worked at the city morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
, preparing corpses that had to undergo autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
.
From 1978 to 1986 he earns scholarships to further his law studies in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and in 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...
, then he works as researcher in the University of Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
, where later he will reach the post of Professor of Roman Law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
.
Political career
A former member of the Italian Communist PartyItalian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
, Diliberto joined the Communist Refoundation Party after the breakup of his former party.
First elected as MP in 1994 for the Communist Refoundation Party, Diliberto left his party in 1998 in contrast with the leadership's line about a motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
in which Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
was defeated. So Diliberto, together with Armando Cossutta
Armando Cossutta
-Life:Born in Milan, Cosutta joined the Italian Communist Party in 1943, and took part in the Italian resistance movement as a partisan. After World War II, he became one of the leading members of the party, representing the most pro-Soviet Union tendency; his belief in that country as the...
and others, founded the Party of Italian Communists, of which he became the secretary. Diliberto then served as Minister of Justice in the first government of Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
, becoming one of the only two party members which were part of that government. He maintained the position until 2000, leaving voluntarily in the reshuffle, in order to concentrate on the party.
On taking office as Minister of Justice, he declared to the press his pride in being "The second Communist appointed as Minister of Justice after Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death.-Early life:...
", and made a point of having the same desk previously used by the postwar Communist leader restored and placed in his office at the Ministry.
On November 2004 he was widely criticized for meeting with the leader of Hizbollah, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah
Hassan Nasrallah
Hasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...
, during a visit to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. This prompted a protest note to the Italian Government from the Israeli Ambassador in Rome.
Before the April 2006 general election
Italian general election, 2006
In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
held in Italy (and won by the centre-left coalition), he declared he would not serve as minister in case of a centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
win, and instead he would maintain his place as party leader, and so he has.
In May 2006 he was elected to the City Council of 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...
. He is currently professor of Roman Law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
at the Faculty of Law of the "La Sapienza" University of Rome.
Before the April 2008 snap general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
(caused by the fall of the Prodi II Cabinet
Prodi II Cabinet
The Prodi II Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008, a total of 722 days, or 1 year, 11 months and 21 days...
), Diliberto refused candidacy to the Camera dei Deputati in the Torino costituency for the The Left – The Rainbow
The Left – The Rainbow
The Left – The Rainbow , frequently referred as Rainbow Left , was a left-wing federation of parties in Italy....
left-wing alliance, which his party was participating to, on grounds of giving a chance to be elected to a junior party fellow - a steel worker in the local Thyssen-Krupp steelworks, where a fire on 6 December 2007 had killed seven colleagues.
After the disastrous results of both the 2008 general elections and of the 2009 European election, where the Italian left-wing parties failed to reach the minimum threshold
Election threshold
In party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to obtain any seats in the parliament...
, Diliberto has been confirmed as party secretary, with a mandate to pursue unity of the left wing parties.