Achille Leone Occhetto (; born 3 March 1936) is an Italian political figure. He served as the last

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) between 1988 and 1991, and was the first leader of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), the parliamentary

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

successor of the PCI, from 1991 to 1994.

Early life and career

Occhetto was born in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. He served as secretary of the Italian Communist Youth Federation, to which he had belonged starting from 1953, from 1963 to 1966. Subsequently, he was the regional secretary of the PCI in Sicily, where he distinguished himself for his war against any kind of

mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

. In 1986, Occhetto was appointed as national coordinator of the PCI and became its secretary in 1988, succeeding Alessandro Natta. Under his leadership, the party witnessed the collapse of both the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He responded by declaring the

Communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

experience over, and persuaded the PCI to dissolve and refound itself as a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...

party, the PDS. This political shift, known in Italian politics as the ''Svolta della Bolognina'' (the name derives from the celebration of a partisan battle in World War II), during which he announced that the PCI would change its name, logo, and orientation, was accepted by approximately 70% of the members at the 20th National Congress held on 8 February 1991. In 1994, Occhetto challenged and was defeated by

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

in the 1994 Italian general election, leading the Alliance of Progressives; because of this loss, he resigned as party secretary. He returned to politics in the 2004 European Parliament election in Italy, being elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

on a joint ticket with anti-corruption campaigner Antonio Di Pietro; he immediately resigned and was replaced by Giulietto Chiesa. After the 2006 Italian general election, he returned to the European Parliament by taking up one of the seats vacated by an elected deputy, and sat as an Independent member of the Party of European Socialists group. In 2009, he joined the new left-wing formation Left Ecology Freedom. He is an atheist.Maria Latella, "Occhetto: pecca chi vota i vecchi DC", ''Il Corriere della Sera'', 28 January 1994, p. 2.

Personal life

Occhetto was married to the activist and former actress Elisa Kadigia Bove, with whom he had two sons, Malcolm and Massimiliano (both born in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

); he was later married to fellow party member Aureliana Alberici.Biography, Achille Occhetto
(in Italian)

Electoral history

First-past-the-post elections

References

External links

A declaration about "Il Cantiere", a new political project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Occhetto, Achille 1936 births Living people Politicians from Turin Italian atheists Italian Communist Party politicians Democratic Party of the Left politicians Democrats of the Left politicians Democratic Left (Italy) politicians Left Ecology Freedom politicians 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 Deputies of Legislature XII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIII of Italy Senators of Legislature XIV of Italy MEPs for Italy 2004–2009