ItalyWho was Alcide De Gasperi?
Alcide De Gasperi was born in Trentino, then part of Austria-Hungary, and sat in the Austrian parliament before the region joined Italy. A leader of the Catholic Italian People's Party, he was imprisoned by the fascist regime from 1927 to 1929 and later found refuge working in the Vatican library. He founded Christian Democracy during the war and led eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953, steering Italy through the transition from monarchy to republic. He was the last prime minister of the Kingdom of Italy and the first of the Republic.
Political views
Believed that only European unity could prevent a repeat of the wars and dictatorships he had lived through.
Source: european-union.europa.euEnvisioned a united Europe in which member states would complement and support one another rather than be replaced.
Source: european-union.europa.euBacked Italy's participation in the Marshall Plan and membership of NATO and built close ties with the United States.
Source: european-union.europa.euSupported the Schuman Plan that created the European Coal and Steel Community and argued for a common European defence policy.
Source: european-union.europa.euLed Christian Democracy as a broad Catholic, anti-communist party of the centre in coalition with smaller secular parties.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgWarned in Strasbourg in 1951 that European institutions without a shared political vision would seem bereft of warmth or higher ideals.
Source: european-union.europa.euSaw democracy, the dignity of the human person, European union and social justice as core political values.
Source: fondazionedegasperi.org
Legacy
Admirers credit De Gasperi with stabilizing Italian democracy, rebuilding the economy and helping launch European integration; the Catholic Church has opened a cause for his beatification. Critics on the left objected to the removal of communists and socialists from his government in 1947 and to his close alignment with the United States. His 1953 electoral law, which offered a large seat bonus to any coalition winning an absolute majority of votes, drew fierce opposition; the coalition fell short of the threshold in the 1953 election and he left office that year.
In their words
The future will not be built through force, nor the desire to conquer, but by the patient application of the democratic method, the constructive spirit of agreement, and by respect for freedom.