Mario Martinelli (12 May 1906 – 21 May 2001) was an Italian resistance member during the

Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...

and a conservative politician who was a member of

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 ...

. He was the undisputed leader of the party in the Como region. He held several government posts and was a long-term member of the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic (), or simply the Senate ( ), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the lower house being the Chamber of Deputies. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform iden ...

and the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

Biography

Martinelli was born in

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

on 12 May 1906. His father, Abbondio, was a dyer worker and trade unionist and was among the founders of Italian People's Party which was established in 1919. Mario Martinelli was an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

by profession. He was a member of the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

during the Fascist Italy. Martinelli was arrested by the political police at his home in Como in August 1944 due to his resistance activities and released in April 1945. Following the end of

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 ...

he joined the Christian Democrat Party and founded its Como branch. He served as the party secretary for the Como region between 1945 and 1946. Then he elected to the Italian parliament in 1946 and became a member of the national council of the Christian Democrat Party in 1948. His tenure at the parliament lasted for three consecutive terms, and the last and fourth one was at the end of the 1970s. After serving as undersecretary of state for treasury and for foreign trade and minister of finance he was appointed minister of foreign trade which he held from 1954 to 1955. He served in the same post between 1960 and 1962. From 1958 Martinelli served in the European Parliament as part of the Christian Democrat group and was the head of the transport committee. He was also a member of the committee on the internal market of the community at the European Parliament. Martinelli also served at the Italian Senate from 1963 for three consecutive terms representing

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. Martinelli was married and had nine children. He died on 21 May 2001.

Legacy

In Como a square was named after him, Mario Martinelli Square. In 2004 Giovanni Di Capua published a biography of Mario Martinelli entitled ''Mario Martinelli nel secolo delle contraddizioni'' ().

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinelli, Mario 1906 births 2001 deaths Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Deputies of Legislature I of Italy Deputies of Legislature II of Italy Deputies of Legislature III of Italy Deputies of Legislature VII of Italy Ministers of finance of Italy Italian resistance movement members Members of the Italian Senate from Lombardy MEPs for Italy 1958–1979 People from Como Senators of Legislature IV of Italy Senators of Legislature V of Italy Senators of Legislature VI of Italy