Lorenzo Natali Pierucci Bondicchi (1922–1989) was an Italian politician for

Christian Democracy Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

, and a European Commissioner from 1977 to 1989.

Early life and career

Natali's parents were born in Colle di Buggiano, in the

province of Pistoia The province of Pistoia () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pistoia and the province is landlocked. It has an area of and a total population of 291,788 inhabitants (as of 2015). There are 22 ''comuni'' (: ...

. His mother was a countess, while his father was the son of a farmer, but he graduated in medicine. In 1925 his father won a primary position at the hospital in L'Aquila and the whole family moved to

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

. Natali grew up and lived in L'Aquila. In 1929, Natali's mother died in childbirth. Natali was greatly influenced by his father, a convinced anti-fascist. He obtained his classical high school diploma at the Domenico Cotugno high school in L'Aquila, then moved to Colle di Buggiano to study law in Florence. After graduation, he became a lawyer. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Natali was responsible for the Catholic youth groups in L'Aquila. He joined the Italian Liberation Corps as a volunteer and participated in the fight against the Nazi-fascists from 16 June to 17 July 1944 in the ranks of the 4th XXXIII Bersaglieri regiment. On 17 July, he was wounded in battle on the Musone nelle Marche river, and on 27 April 1945, he received the Cross for Military Valor.

Political career

In 1955 Natali was appointed Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers for the press and information within the Segni I government. In this capacity, he participated in the signing of the

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

on 25 March 1957. Subsequently, he held the positions of undersecretary of the ministry of finance (Zoli government and Fanfani II government) and of the treasury ministry (Tambroni government, Fanfani III government, Fanfani IV government, Leone I government and Moro I government). In 1966 he was appointed minister for the first time and joined the Moro III government as Minister of Merchant Marine. Later he was Minister of Public Works in the Leone II and Rumor II Governments, Minister of Tourism and Entertainment in the Rumor I Government and Minister of Agriculture in the Rumor III, Colombo, Andreotti I and II Governments. He served as

Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...

and Commissioner for Enlargement, Environment and Nuclear Safety in the Jenkins Commission from 1977 to 1981. He then served as Vice-President and Commissioner for Mediterranean Policy, Enlargement and Information in the

Thorn Commission The Thorn Commission was the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1981 until 5 January 1985. Its President of the European Commission, President was Gaston Thorn. Work It was the successor to the Jenkins Commission (EU), Jenki ...

from 1981 to 1985. He was Vice-President and held the portfolio of Cooperation, Development Affairs and Enlargement in the

Delors Commission The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the eighth President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms (though the last one lasted for around a year). The first term lasted ...

from 1985 to 1989. He was a government minister in Italy from 1966 to 1972 and served as Minister of Agriculture from 1970. The Lorenzo Natali Media Prize, a journalism prize awarded annually by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

Directorate-General for International Partnerships Within the European Union (EU), Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility. Within the European Commission specifically, Directorates-General are the equivalent of national-level Ministry (government department), m ...

, is named in his honour.Lorenzo Natali Prize
Europa.eu

References

External links

*Th
private papers
of Lorenzo Natali are deposited at th
Historical Archives of the European Union
in Florence * {{DEFAULTSORT:Natali, Lorenzo Italian European commissioners Italian Roman Catholics 1922 births 1989 deaths Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians European commissioners (1977–1981) European commissioners (1981–1985) European commissioners (1985–1988)