Marco Minghetti (18 November 1818 – 10 December 1886) was an Italian economist and statesman.

Biography

Minghetti was born in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, then part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. With Antonio Montanan and Rodolfo Audinot he founded at Bologna a paper, ''Il Felsineo''. He signed the petition to the Papal conclave, 1846, urging the election of a liberal pope, and was appointed member of the state council summoned to prepare a constitution for the Papal States. In the first constitutional cabinet of the Papal States, presided over by Cardinal Antonelli, Minghetti held the portfolio of public works, but after

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

publicly spoke against the Italian Risorgimento he resigned, and joined the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

ese army as captain on the general staff. Returning to Rome in September 1848, he refused to join a papal ministry after the November 15 assassination of

Pellegrino Rossi Pellegrino Luigi Odoardo Rossi (13 July 1787 – 15 November 1848) was an Italian economist, politician and jurist. He was an important figure of the July Monarchy in France, and the minister of justice in the government of the Papal States, unde ...

, and spent the next eight years in study and travel. In 1856, he was summoned to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

by Cavour to help prepare a memorandum on the future status of the

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

provinces for the negotiations occurring for the Paris congress resolving the Crimean War. In 1859, he was appointed by Cavour to become secretary-general of the Piedmontese Foreign Office. In the same year he was elected president of the assembly of the Romagna after the rejection of pontifical rule by those provinces, and prepared their annexation to Piedmont. In October 1860 he was appointed Piedmontese minister of the interior, but he resigned office shortly after Cavour's death. In 1862, he was subsequently chosen to be minister of finance by prime minister Farini. In 1863, Minghetti succeeded Farini as prime minister, and held this position for 19 months. With the help of

Emilio, marquis Visconti-Venosta Emilio, marquis Visconti-Venosta (22 January 182924 November 1914) was an Italian politician, statesman. He is one of the longest-serving Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the history of Italy. Biography Visc ...

, by September 15, 1864, he concluded the September Convention agreed to by France, whereby

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

of France agreed to evacuate Rome, and the Savoy monarchy of Italy to transfer her capital from Turin to Florence. The convention excited violent opposition at

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 ...

, causing Minghetti to resign. He took little part in public life until 1869, when he accepted the portfolio of agriculture in the Menabrea Cabinet. Both in and out of office he exercised his influence against an Italo-French alliance and for an immediate advance upon Rome, and in 1870 was sent to London and Vienna by the Lanza-Sella Cabinet to organize a league of neutral powers on the outbreak of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. In 1873 he overthrew the Lanza-Sella Cabinet and regained the premiership, which, with the portfolio of finance, he held until the fall of the Right from power on 18 March 1876. During his premiership he inaugurated the ''rapprochement'' between Italy, Austria and Germany, and reformed the naval and military administration; and before his ouster he was able, as finance minister, to balance the State budget for the first time since 1860. After the advent of the Left, Minghetti remained for some years in opposition, but towards 1884 joined Depretis in creating the ''Trasformismo'' ("Transformation" movement), which united the various liberal factions in the country. He hoped to imitate the example of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's Liberal Party. Minghetti, however, drew from it no personal advantage, and died at Rome on 10 December 1886 without having returned to power. His writings include: ''Della economia pubblica e delle sue attinenze con la morale e col diritto'' (Bologna, 1859), and ''La Chiesa e lo Stato'' (Milan, 1878). He is commemorated in Rome by a monument at Piazza San Pantaleo on the Corso.

Writings

''I partiti politici e la ingerenza loro nella giustizia e nell' amministrazione''''Della economia pubblica: e delle sue attinenze colla morale e col. diritto''''Des rapports de l'économie publique avec la morale et le droit''''Stato e chiesa'' By Marco Minghetti''L'état et l'église ''''La convenzione di settembre: un capitolo dei miei ricordi''''Scritti vari''

References

Biography

Writings

See also

References