Mario Fasino (26 July 1920 – 17 January 2017) was an Italian politician, journalist, and one of the co-founders of

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

(DC) in Sicily. He served as the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

from 20 September 1969 until 22 December 1972. Fasino was elected

of the

Sicilian Regional Assembly The Sicilian Regional Assembly () is the legislative body of Sicily. While it has a long history as an autonomous entity, the modern Region of Sicily was established by Royal Decree on 15 May 1946, before the Italian Republic. The Regional Assem ...

from 1974 to 1976. In addition to his political career, Fasino, a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, was the director of "Voce cattolica", the official publication of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church. It was founded as the Diocese of Palermo in the first century and raised to the status of archdiocese in the 11th century.San Severo San Severo (; formerly spelled Sansevero and previously known as San Severino; ; ) is a (municipality) of inhabitants in the province of Foggia, Apulia, Southern Italy. Rising on the foot of the spur of Gargano, San Severo adjoins the communes ...

Province of Foggia The province of Foggia (, ; Neapolitan language, Foggiano: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Regions of Italy, Italian region Apulia. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygians, Iapygian pre-Roman tribe livi ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

. He was first elected to the

in 1951, representing a constituency in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. Fasino would win re-election to the Sicilian Regional Assembly for an additional seven terms during his career. In 1969, Fasino was elected President of Sicily, the head of the regional government. He led five separate Sicilian governments from 1969 until he left the office of the presidency on 22 December 1972. Two years later, Fasino was elected

of the

, succeeding the outgoing speaker, Angelo Bonfiglio, who had been elected to the national

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 ...

. Fasino headed the Sicilian Regional Assembly as President from 1974 until 1976. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, Fasino lost re-election to the Sicilian Regional Assembly. However, he returned to the Assembly in 1983 when he was appointed to fill the vacant seat of Mario D'Acquisto, who had been elected to the

. Fasino declined to seek re-election to Assembly in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, but remained a high-ranking official within the Sicilian regional DC Party. He was also appointed to the

(DC) national council. Fasino later became the President of the

Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani The Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani (Center for Sicilian Philological and Linguistic Studies; CSFLS) is a non-profit organization which aims to promote the studies of ancient and modern Sicilian. Founded in 1951, it has its sea ...

(CSFLS) (''Center of Philology Studies and Sicilian Language''). During the 1990s, Fasino was also appointed to the Sicilian Council of Regional Culture. Mario Fasino died in

Palermo, Sicily Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, on 17 January 2017, at the age of 96. His funeral was held at the Santa Maria di Monserrato Church in Palermo.

References

1920 births 2017 deaths Presidents of Sicily Presidents of the Sicilian Regional Assembly Members of the Sicilian Regional Assembly Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Palermo FC chairmen and investors Italian journalists Italian male journalists Politicians from Palermo People from San Severo {{Sicily-politician-stub