Gianni De Michelis (26 November 1940 – 11 May 2019) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, prominent member of the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 189 ...

(PSI), who served as minister in many Italian governments in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Biography

De Michelis was born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1940. He graduated in 1963 in Industrial Chemistry at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

and began his academic career, first as an assistant and then as a lecturer, becoming an associate professor of Chemistry in 1980 at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice. After a long leave due to political and institutional commitments, he returned to university teaching from 1994 to 1999. He started his political career with the Italian Socialist Party, where he was elected to the municipal council of Venice. He got elected for the first time to the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitio ...

in 1976 and was elected again in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992 and 2006. He was Minister of State Holdings from 1980 to 1983. He then became Minister of Work in 1986 (with

Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( , , ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th prime minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He was the first PSI membe ...

as President of the Council). His career however reached the top with his nomination to the Vice-Presidency of the Council in 1988-1989. He became Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1989 and kept that post until 1992. Between 1993 and 2001, during the so-called "judicial storm of

Mani Pulite ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...

", was accused of corruption along with many of the socialists MPs and regional administrators. Within more than 35 different trails, apart from the numerous favorable verdicts, he has been convicted of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months (negotiated) in

for highways bribes in

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

and to 6 months for illegal financing ( Enimont bribe, also negotiated). In 1996, De Michelis founded a political movement named the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

with

Ugo Intini Ugo Intini (born 30 June 1941) is an Italian journalist and politician. Biography A long-time member of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and close aide of Bettino Craxi, he was spokesman of the PSI and representative of the party in the Socia ...

and other former

(PSI) members, which later was joined by the Socialist League of Claudio Martelli and

Bobo Craxi Vittorio Michele Craxi, commonly known as Bobo Craxi (born 6 August 1964), is an Italian politician, son of the former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi and brother of Stefania Craxi. Biography Formerly a prominent member of the Italian Soc ...

to form the New PSI in 2001. He was elected secretary of the new party at the first congress. De Michelis was elected at the 2004 European elections as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for Southern Italy with the NPSI, and was therefore a

Non-Inscrit Non-Inscrits (; abbreviated NI; also non-attached members, abbreviated NA) are Members of the European Parliament (MEP) who do not belong to one of the recognised political groups. These MEPs may be members of a national party, or of a Europe ...

in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

whilst awaiting the acceptance of his party's request of membership in the

Socialist Group The Socialists, Democrats and Greens Group (french: Groupe Socialiste, SOC) is a primarily social-democratic political grouping in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It was known as the Socialist Group prior to August 2017. The g ...

. He sat in the

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its areas of responsibility relate to industry, especially technology-intensive manufacturing, information technology, and telecommunications. It also ...

, and was a substitute for the

Committee on Legal Affairs The Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities The main responsibilities of the committee are the interpretation and application of international and European law and the compliance of European U ...

, a member of the Delegation for relations with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and a substitute for the Delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly. His leadership however had been contested in the congress of October 2005 where the son of

claimed to have been declared

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

after De Michelis had left the hall declaring the Congress void. This led Bobo Craxi to open a judicial case. The judge, on the second verdicts, gave unquestionably confirmed the right to use the symbol and the secretary to Gianni De Michelis. At the

2006 Italian general election The 2006 Italian general election was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedo ...

he was elected MP for the Italian parliament but gave his seat to

Lucio Barani Lucio Barani (born 27 May 1953 in Aulla) is an Italian politician and surgeon. Biography Barani graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Pisa. He was mayor of two municipalities: Aulla, from 1990 to 2004, and Villafranca in Luni ...

since he decided to stay in the European Parliament. In October 2007, De Michelis joined the newly formed

, made up of the diaspora of the historical PSI. At this time, De Michelis along with fellow former NPSI MEP

Alessandro Battilocchio Alessandro Battilocchio (born 3 May 1977 in Rome) is an Italian politician. Biography Battilocchio graduated in law from the LUISS Guido Carli and then in political science from La Sapienza University in Rome. He served as Councilor for cu ...

were admitted into the

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliame ...

of the

Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom. ...

. De Michelis died in

on 11 May 2019 at the age of 78.

Personal life

De Michelis was a great lover of dance and discos: in 1988, he wrote a book entitled "''Dove Andiamo a Ballare Questa Sera''?" ( en, Where to Go Dancing this Night?) in which he reviewed 250 Italian dance night clubs.

Electoral history

Writings

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Michelis, Gianni 1940 births 2019 deaths Politicians of Veneto Politicians from Venice Deputy Prime Ministers of Italy Foreign ministers of Italy Italian Socialist Party politicians Italian Methodists Italian Christian socialists New Italian Socialist Party MEPs MEPs for Italy 2004–2009 Socialist Party (Italy, 1996) politicians New Italian Socialist Party politicians Methodist socialists Deaths from Parkinson's disease Neurological disease deaths in Veneto Italian politicians convicted of crimes Deputies of Legislature VII of Italy Deputies of Legislature VIII of Italy Deputies of Legislature IX of Italy Deputies of Legislature X of Italy Deputies of Legislature XI of Italy Italian Freemasons