Silvius Magnago (5 February 1914 – 25 May 2010) was a South Tyrolean politician.

Biography

Magnago was born in

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on 5 February 1914. In 1936 he graduated from the grammar school of the

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

. He studied law at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

and graduated with a JD in June 1940. Because of his rejection of Italian

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

he chose to move to Germany in 1939, but remained first in South Tyrol, where he worked in Bolzano for a commission to estimate the assets of the Tyroleans following the

South Tyrol Option Agreement The South Tyrol Option Agreement (german: Option in Südtirol; it, Opzioni in Alto Adige) was an agreement in effect between 1939 and 1943, when the native German and Ladin-speaking people in South Tyrol and several other municipalities of northe ...

. He was eventually called in the German Army as a lieutenant, and sent to the Eastern Front, where a severe injury lead to the amputation of his left leg. In the postwar period Magnago started his political activities in the municipal council of Bolzano as a member of the newly founded

South Tyrolean People's Party The South Tyrolean People's Party (german: Südtiroler Volkspartei, SVP) is a regionalist and autonomist political party in South Tyrol, an autonomous province with a German-speaking majority in northern Italy. Founded on 8 May 1945, the SVP h ...

(SVP). From 1948 to 1952 he acted as the city's vice-mayor. In 1948, he was also elected for the first time to the Council of South Tyrol and

Regional Council of Trentino-Alto Adige The Regional Council of Trentino-Alto Adige ( it, Consiglio regionale del Trentino-Alto Adige; german: link=no, Regionalrat Trentino-Südtirol; lld, Consei dla Region Trentin-Südtirol) is the legislative assembly of the autonomous region of ...

, where he remained until 1988. Magnago became chairman (''Obmann'') of his party in 1957, and held that function until 1991. In 1957, Magnago was the central figure of a strategic turn of his party: up to that year the South Tyrolean People's Party had unsuccessfully tried to gain some margins of self-governance via a soft policy of alliances with the governing

Democrazia Cristiana Christian Democracy ( it, Democrazia Cristiana, DC) was a Christian democratic political party in Italy. The DC was founded on 15 December 1943 in the Italian Social Republic (Nazi-occupied Italy) as the ideal successor of the Italian People's ...

. Under the new leader and new motto ''Los von Trient'' (i.e. ''away from

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ce ...

'', with regard to the regional capital) the SVP started to take a harder line, in order to obtain a devolution of powers to the provincial level of administration. From 1960 to 1989 Magnago was the governor ('' Landeshauptmann'') of the autonomous province of

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous area, Autonomous Provinces of Italy, province , image_skyline = ...

. His major political success was the commencement of the second Statute of Autonomy in 1972, which distinctly extended South Tyrol's legislative and executive competencies. After suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

for several years, Magnago died in Bolzano on 25 May 2010.

Legacy

Tony Cragg sculpture hommage a Silvio Magnago

Due to his long-time commitment to self-governance of his native province, he is widely regarded as the ''father of South Tyrolean autonomy''.

Bibliography

* Hans Benedikter: ''Silvius Magnago: ein Leben für Südtirol''. Athesia, Bozen 1983, . * Claudio Calabrese: ''Silvius Magnago: il patriarca (1914–2010)''. Praxis 3, Bozen 2010, . *

Hans Karl Peterlini Hans Karl Peterlini (born 12 March 1961) is an author, journalist, Austrian university professor and educational researcher originally from South Tyrol (Südtirol/Alto Adige), an autonomous, mostly German speaking province in Northern Italy. Like ...

: ''Silvius Magnago. Das Vermächtnis: Bekenntnisse einer politischen Legende''. Edition Raetia, Bozen 2007, . * Gottfried Solderer (ed.): ''Silvius Magnago: eine Biographie Südtirols''. Edition Raetia, Bozen 1996, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnago, Silvius 1914 births 2010 deaths Governors of South Tyrol Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Landtag of South Tyrol Members of the Regional Council of Trentino-Alto Adige People from Merano South Tyrolean People's Party politicians Germanophone Italian people