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Athos Valsecchi (26 November 1919 – 20 July 1985) was an Italian
Christian Democrat Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...
politician. He served several times in Italian governments as undersecretary and minister. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy in Legislature I, Legislature II and Legislature III, while he was a member of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in Legislature IV, Legislature V and Legislature VI.


Biography

Born from a humble family (his father was a pastry chef, orphaned from his mother since birth), he spent his childhood and adolescence in
Chiavenna Chiavenna (; ; ; or ; archaic or ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is the centre of the Alpine Valchiavenna region. The historic town is a member of the Cittaslow movement. Geo ...
, the city from which the family originated. He graduated in literature from the Catholic University of Milan in 1942. He was Lieutenant of Complement of the
Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operati ...
. After 8 September 1943 he took refuge in the Swiss Confederation as an internee. There he began to approach the political thought of democratic Catholics, meeting and meeting people in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, including
Amintore Fanfani Amintore Fanfani (; 6 February 1908 – 20 November 1999) was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as 32nd prime minister of Italy for five separate terms. He was one of the best-known Italian politicians after the Second World War an ...
. Returning to Chiavenna after the end of the conflict, he was professor and Dean of the Middle Schools of the Municipality of Chiavenna and continued his political activity in the context of the provincial Christian Democrats, tying himself particularly to
Ezio Vanoni Ezio Vanoni (3 August 1903 – 16 February 1956) was an Italian economist and politician who served as Minister of Finance from May 1948 to January 1954 and Minister Budget from January 1954 until February 1956. Vanoni is widely considered on ...
. He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies at the age of 28 in the legislature of 1948 and then reconfirmed in the subsequent legislatures of 1953 and 1958. He was subsequently elected Senator for three terms and held numerous parliamentary and government posts, which nevertheless never induced him to leave out the intense political and economic activity in favor of his Province. Appointed president of the BIM Consortium (Bacino Imbrifero Montano) of the Adda, a position he held until 1985, the year of his death, thanks to a careful and insightful administration of the contributions of the over-rents that the producers of electricity paid to BIM, he worked in various initiatives aimed at improving the life and economy of its territory. He also enhanced the zootechnical selection through the development of the herd book and the rehabilitation of the alpine brown cattle breed characteristic of the mountain area. In recognition of these merits the Provincial Breeders Association of Sondrio awarded him, on 16 October 1966, the Gold Medal of Merit. He was also Mayor of the municipality of Chiavenna from 1951 to 1956 and from 1964 to 1970.


The oil scandal

In 1974 Athos Valsecchi together with other politicians (
Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( ; ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and wikt:statesman, statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992), and was leader of th ...
,
Giacinto Bosco Giacinto Bosco (25 January 1905 – 11 October 1997) was an Italian jurist, academic and politician from the Christian Democrats. He held various ministerial posts from 1960 to 1972. After retiring from politics he served as a judge at the Court ...
, Mario Ferrari Aggradi, Mauro Ferri, Luigi Preti) was involved in the so-called "First oil scandal", accused of having benefited or favored funding from
ENEL Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel was first established as a public body at the end of 1962, and then transformed into a limited company in 1992. In 1999, following the liberali ...
and political parties of government by the oil companies, In the case, being ministers, the investigating commission for the prosecution proceedings took care of the investigations only carried out by Valsecchi and Ferri. After a long and careful examination, the commission had to acknowledge that the acts adopted by the
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
Valsecchi as well as those of the Minister of Industry Ferri were legitimate "excluding any hypothesis of corruption" and therefore not to have to proceed against them. Valsecchi was fully acquitted, but only after 5 years.Italia. La fabbrica degli scandali
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valsecci, Athos 1919 births 1985 deaths People from the Province of Como Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Ministers of finance of Italy Ministers of health of Italy Deputies of Legislature I of Italy Deputies of Legislature II of Italy Deputies of Legislature III of Italy Mayors of places in Lombardy Senators of Legislature IV of Italy Senators of Legislature V of Italy Senators of Legislature VI of Italy Politicians of Lombardy Alpini Royal Italian Army personnel of World War II