Manlio Brosio (10 July 1897 – 14 March 1980) was an Italian lawyer, diplomat, politician and the fourth Secretary General of NATO between 1964 and 1971.

Early life

Brosio 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 ...

to Edoardo Brosio and Fortunata Curadelli. He studied law at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the Alpine regiment as an artillery officer. After the war, he graduated from university and in 1920 entered politics. Later his political activity was barred because of his opposition to fascism.

Career

During

World War II 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 ...

, after the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943, Brosio went underground and later became a member of the

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee (, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationist forces of the ...

. After the war he re-entered politics, and became deputy prime minister and in 1945, the

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. In January 1947, Brosio became the Italian ambassador to 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 ...

and got involved with the

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

negotiations between the countries. In 1952 he became ambassador to the UK, to the US in 1955 and to France from 1961 to 1964. On 12 May 1964, the NATO council chose Brosio to succeed

Dirk Stikker Dirk Uipko Stikker (5 February 1897 – 23 December 1979) was a Dutch politician and diplomat of the defunct Liberal State Party (LSP), co-founder of the defunct Freedom Party (PvdV) and of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (V ...

as secretary general. He resigned on 3 September 1971. On 29 September 1971, U.S. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

awarded him the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

Personal life

Brosio died in Turin. He was the uncle of singer and television presenter

Vanna Brosio Vanna Brosio (18 April 1943 – 19 June 2010) was an Italian singer, television personality and journalist. Life and career Born Giovanna Brosio in Turin, the daughter of a well-known antiquarian and the niece of the former NATO Secretary Gen ...

.Sergio Miravalle. "Intervista Giorgio e Paolo astigiani celebri". ''

La Stampa (English: "The Press") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin with an average circulation of 87,143 copies in May 2023. Distributed in Italy and other European nations, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Until the late 1970 ...

''. 27 July 1996. p.3.

Honors

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic 1st Class / Knight Grand Cross – 2 June 1955

References

NATO Who is Who? Secretary General Manlio Brosio
Retrieved 2 October 2005.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brosio, Manlio 1897 births 1980 deaths Italian military personnel of World War I Politicians from Turin Italian Liberal Party politicians Ministers of war of Italy Members of the National Council (Italy) Senators of Legislature VI of Italy Diplomats from Turin Ambassadors of Italy to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Italy to the United States Ambassadors of Italy to France Ambassadors of Italy to the Soviet Union Secretaries general of NATO 20th-century Italian diplomats Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Italian resistance movement members