Ruggero Grieco (19 August 1893 – 23 July 1955) was an Italian politician, antifascist, and member of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) 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 (PSI) ...

(''Italian: Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI''). He was born in

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

Early life

Grieco completed high school studies at the institute of agronomy. Aged 18 he came into contact with socialist circles and met

Amadeo Bordiga Amadeo Bordiga (13 June 1889 – 25 July 1970) was an Italian Marxist theorist, revolutionary socialist, founder of the Communist Party of Italy (PCI), member of the Communist International (Comintern) and later a leading figure of the Interna ...

. In 1912 he joined the Socialist Party. After Italy's entry in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in 1915, Grieco served as a second lieutenant in the army.

Political career

In 1921 he took part in the founding of the Italian Communist Party. From 1921 he was a member of the party's central committee and executive committee, siding with Bordiga during the

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

schism. In 1927 he became a member first of the party's politburo and then of its leadership. From 1924 to 1926 he was a parliamentary deputy.

Exile

Between 1926 and 1944 he was in exile in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. He became a member of the Foreign Center of the Italian Communist Party under the pseudonym "Garlandi." In 1928 he became a candidate member and in 1935 a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he worked on radio system in Moscow, where he was in charge of broadcasts for Italy.

Return to Italy

In 1944 he returned to Italy and took over the propaganda section of the Communist Party and headed the agrarian committee of the Party's central committee. He was editor of the magazine ''La riforma agraria'' (Agrarian Reform). In 1946 he was elected to the Constituent Assembly and in 1948 became a senator.

Death

He died of a heart attack at

Massa Lombarda Massa Lombarda ( rgn, La Mása) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about east of Bologna and about west of Ravenna. Twin towns Massa Lombarda is twinned with: * Poreč ...

, during a political meeting to mark the launch of the National Farmworkers' Alliance (''Alleanza nazionale dei contadini'')

Early life

Political career

Exile

Return to Italy

Death

Further reading (in Italian)

See also