Andrea Finocchiaro Aprile (26 June 1878–14 January 1964) was an Italian politician.

Biography

He was born in Lercara Friddi on 26 June 1878 as the son of Camillo Finocchiaro Aprile, a liberal politician and several times minister, and the Sicilian noblewoman Giovanna Sartorio. His brother was Emanuele Finocchiaro Aprile, also a Deputy during the Kingdom of Italy. Andrea Finocchiaro Aprile was a professor of "history of law" at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...

and at the

University of Siena The University of Siena ( it, Università degli Studi di Siena, abbreviation: UNISI) in Siena, Tuscany, is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called ''Studium Senese'', the institution was founded in 12 ...

. He began his political activity with the election as deputy to the Chamber of Deputies in 1913 as a liberal, following in his father's footsteps. Re-elected in 1919 with Democratic Social Party, he was appointed Undersecretary for War in the Nitti I Cabinet until 1920 and Undersecretary for Finance in the

Nitti II Cabinet The Nitti II government of Italy held office from 22 May until 10 June 1920, a total of 19 days. It is one of the shortest governments in Italian history. Government parties The government was composed by the following parties: Composition ...

. Re-elected also in 1921, he opposed the nascent fascist regime as a Freemason, and in 1924 he ran on the lists of

Giovanni Amendola Giovanni Amendola (15 April 1882 – 7 April 1926) was an Italian journalist, professor and politician, noted as an opponent of Italian Fascism. Biography Early life and education Amendola was born in Naples on 15 April 1882. He moved to Rome, ...

's National Union, but this time he was not re-elected. He retired from active politics in 1925 and returned to practice as a lawyer. In 1936 he expressed his consent to the Ethiopian war and to the union of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

with Italy. In the winter of 1942 he made contact with exponents of Sicilian pre-fascist politics. He officially returned to politics in June 1943, a few days before the landing of the allies in Sicily, launching in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...

an appeal with an Action Committee for passive resistance against fascist Italy, a committee that became the original nucleus of the

Movement for the Independence of Sicily The Movement for the Independence of Sicily ( it, Movimento per l'Indipendenza della Sicilia, scn, Muvimentu pâ Nnipinnenza dâ Sicilia, MIS) was a separatist Sicilian political party originally active in Sicily from 1943 to 1951. Its best el ...

(MIS). He also maintained close contacts with both the British and US secret services, and therefore with the

Amgot The Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (originally abbreviated AMGOT, later AMG) was the form of military rule administered by Allied forces during and after World War II within European territories they occupied. Notable AMGOT ...

, to support the separatist cause. He authorized the birth of the Voluntary Army for the Independence of Sicily (EVIS) in 1944. That year he escaped an attack during a demonstration organized by the MIS in

Regalbuto Regalbuto (Latin: Ameselum; Sicilian: ''Regarbutu'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Enna, Sicily, southern Italy. There is an annual cattle fair held in the month of August. History Regalbuto may be the ancient town of Amaselos, which wa ...

but, in the same year, he was arrested for order of the Bonomi government. The MIS in 1944 came to count almost half a million members. He returned free in 1945 but, in October of the same year, he was arrested again with his right arm Antonino Varvaro and sent to political confinement in

Ponza Ponza (Italian: ''isola di Ponza'' ) is the largest island of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina i ...

, where he remained until March 1946. In June 1946 he was elected deputy to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

on the lists of the MIS. In 1947 the partnership with Varvaro dissolved due to serious differences on the conception of the party. The secretary wanted the movement to take a precise political position, in the case in point on the left, while Finocchiaro Aprile considered it transversal to any ideology. In the III national congress of

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

, Varvaro was expelled from the MIS also due to pressure from the "right-wing" fringe (Tasca–Carcaci). In May 1947 he was elected deputy to the Sicilian Regional Assembly, from which he resigned in March 1948, to run again for the Chamber of Deputies, but he was not elected. He therefore decided to leave the MIS which - after losing all national and regional parliamentary representation - dissolved in 1951. In 1953 he accepted, without being elected, to stand for the general election among the ranks of the

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a centre-right to right-wing and conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded in 1998 and currently controls the government of In ...

. Subsequently, he was appointed judge of the High Court for the Sicilian Region. He died in

on 14 January 1964.

External links

FINOCCHIARO APRILE, Andrea's profile on treccani.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finocchiaro Aprile, Andrea 1878 births 1964 deaths People from Lercara Friddi Social Democracy (Italy) politicians Movement for the Independence of Sicily politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Members of the Constituent Assembly of Italy Politicians from the Province of Palermo