Augusto Antonio Barbera (born 25 June 1938) is an Italian judge and former

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

professor at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

. In his political career he was member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

between 1976 and 1994 for the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

and later the Democratic Party of the Left. In 1993 he served shortly as Minister without portfolio for relations with Parliament in the government of Prime Minister

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician, statesman and banker who was the President of Italy from 1999 to 2006 and the Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994. A World War II veteran, C ...

. Barbera has been Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy since 21 December 2015 and its President since 12 December 2023.

Career

Barbera was born in Aidone on 25 June 1938. He obtained a degree in Jurisprudence with a specialization in constitutional law. Between 1967 and 1969 he worked abroad as a researcher at the universities of

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. Barbera was a lecturer of constitutional law at the

University of Catania The University of Catania () is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest in the world. With over 38,000 enrolled students, it is the largest uni ...

from 1969 to 1970. He then took up similar position at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara () is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 500 students, was the best attended of ...

, where he would remain until 1977. In that latter year he started working at the Institute of Public Law of the faculty of political science of the

. He stopped working there in 1994. He was a professor of constitutional law at the University of Bologna. He took up

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

status in 2014. In 2013 Barbera was named as one of 35 academics in a commission on constitutional reform under Prime Minister

Enrico Letta Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republ ...

. Barbera is a corresponding academic of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna in the section of law, economics, and finance.

Political career

Barbera took up political office in 1976, when he was elected to the

for the

. He would stay member of the Chamber until 1994. When the Communist Party dissolved in 1991, he stayed member of its successor party, the Democratic Party of the Left. From 1987 to 1992 Barbera served as president of the parliamentary committee on regional questions. On 29 April 1993 Barbera was one of three former Communist Party politicians named in the new Ciampi Cabinet; the other two were Vincenzo Visco and Luigi Berlinguer. Barbera was made Minister without portfolio for relations with Parliament. It was the first time in 46 years that former Communist Party politicians were made part of the cabinet. Several hours after being officially named in the government, a rupture broke in the coalition over the handling of charges in Parliament against former Prime Minister

Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( ; ; ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician and statesman, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from 1 ...

. The Ministers of the Democratic Party of the Left, to which Barbera belonged, resigned. His replacement, Paolo Barile, took office on 4 May. On 16 December 2015, the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

elected three candidates to the Constitutional Court of Italy: Franco Modugno, Giulio Prosperetti and Barbera. The election was realized after 31 previous failed attempts. Barbera was the candidate of the Democratic Party, he obtained 581 votes in favor. He was sworn in five days after his election.

Electoral history

Honour

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (31 May 2017)

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbera, Augusto 1938 births Living people People from Aidone Italian Communist Party politicians Democratic Party of the Left politicians Democrats of the Left politicians Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Government ministers of Italy 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 Judges of the Constitutional Court of Italy Presidents of the Constitutional Court of Italy Scholars of constitutional law Academic staff of the University of Bologna Academic staff of the University of Catania Academic staff of the University of Ferrara Jurists from Sicily Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic