Mario Berlinguer (;

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

, 29 August 1891 –

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 5 September 1969) was an Italian lawyer and politician. He descended from a noble Sardinian family of

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

origins. As many of his ancestors, he belonged to the

Italian Freemasonry Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and was Great Master (33rd Scottish Rite Mason) of the regular lodge of Sassari, affiliated to the

Grand Orient of Italy The Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) ( it, Grande Oriente d'Italia) is an Italian masonic grand lodge founded in 1805; the viceroy Eugene of Beauharnais was instrumental in its establishment. It was based at the Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome, Italy fro ...

Biography

Born in Sassari, in his youth he was a follower of the Meridionalist activist

Gaetano Salvemini Gaetano Salvemini (; 8 September 1873 – 6 September 1957) was an Italian Socialist and antifascist politician, historian and writer. Born in a family of modest means, he became an acclaimed historian both in Italy and abroad, particularly in ...

. After his graduation in law he collaborated with the newspaper ''

La Nuova Sardegna ''La Nuova Sardegna'' is an Italian regional daily newspaper for the island of Sardinia. History and profile ''La Nuova Sardegna'' was founded in 1891 by Enrico Berlinguer, grandfather and namesake of Enrico Berlinguer, national secretary of th ...

'' and other Italian newspapers. He was elected to the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...

in 1924. The following year he founded the clandestine newspaper ''Sardegna libera'' ("Free Sardinia") which attracted him the hostility of the

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

regime. His sister, Ines, was among the anti-Fascist figures and was married to

Stefano Siglienti Stefano Siglienti (1898 – 1971) was an Italian banker and politician who served as the minister of finance from 18 June until 12 December 1944. He held several banking posts until his death. Early life and education Hailed from intellectual b ...

. After the

armistice with Italy The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Bri ...

(September 1943), he joined the Action Party. For the latter Berlinguer was a member of the second government formed by

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...

in southern Italy. In 1945 he was named to the Consulta Nazionale and collaborated to the elaboration of the special regional status for Sardinia. He was a deputy for PSI from 1948 to 1953. He was the father of Giovanni and

Enrico Berlinguer Enrico Berlinguer (; 25 May 1922 – 11 June 1984) was an Italian politician, considered the most popular leader of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), which he led as the national secretary from 1972 until his death during a tense period in Ital ...

, outstanding members of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berlinguer, Mario 1891 births 1969 deaths People from Sassari Italian people of Catalan descent Action Party (Italy) politicians Italian Socialist Party politicians Deputies of Legislature XXVII of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the National Council (Italy) Senators of Legislature I of Italy Deputies of Legislature II of Italy Deputies of Legislature III of Italy Deputies of Legislature IV of Italy Politicians of Sardinia 20th-century Italian lawyers Italian Aventinian secessionists