Silvius Magnago (5 February 191425 May 2010) was a South Tyrolean politician who served as Chairman of the

South Tyrolean People's Party The South Tyrolean People's Party (, SVP) is a regionalism (politics), regionalist and mostly Christian democracy, Christian-democratic list of political parties in South Tyrol, political party in South Tyrol, an Autonomous administrative divisio ...

from 1957 to 1991 and as Governor of South Tyrol from 1960 to 1989.

Biography

Magnago was born in

Merano Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its Spa town, spa resorts, it is located within a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to Height above mean sea ...

, which was then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, on 5 February 1914. In 1936 he graduated from the grammar school of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

. He studied law at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

and graduated with a JD in June 1940. Because of his rejection of Italian

Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

he chose to move to Germany in 1939, but remained first in South Tyrol, where he worked in Bolzano for a commission to estimate the assets of the Tyroleans following the South Tyrol Option Agreement. He was eventually conscripted into the German Army as a lieutenant, and sent to the Eastern Front, where a severe injury lead to the amputation of his left leg. In the postwar period Magnago started his political activities in the municipal council of Bolzano as a member of the newly founded

(SVP). From 1948 to 1952 he acted as the city's vice-mayor. In 1948, he was also elected for the first time to the

Council of South Tyrol The Council of South Tyrol is the provincial council (; ; ) of the autonomous province of South Tyrol (Bolzano) in northeast Italy. As a legislature it is responsible for passing laws at the provincial level and enacting the budget. It also elect ...

and Regional Council of Trentino-Alto Adige, where he remained until 1988. Magnago became chairman (''Obmann'') of his party in 1957, and held that function until 1991. In 1957, Magnago was the central figure of a strategic turn of his party: up to that year the South Tyrolean People's Party had unsuccessfully tried to gain some margins of self-governance via a soft policy of alliances with the governing

Democrazia Cristiana Christian Democracy (, DC) was a Christian democratic political party in Italy. The DC was founded on 15 December 1943 in the Italian Social Republic (Nazi-occupied Italy) as the nominal successor of the Italian People's Party (1919), Italian ...

. Under the new leader and new motto ''Los von Trient'' (i.e. ''away from

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

'', with regard to the regional capital) the SVP started to take a harder line, in order to obtain a devolution of powers to the provincial level of administration. From 1960 to 1989 Magnago was the governor (''

Landeshauptmann The Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute,'' ) is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Ty ...

'') of the autonomous province of

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

. His major political success was the commencement of the second Statute of Autonomy in 1972, which distinctly extended South Tyrol's legislative and executive competencies. After suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

for several years, Magnago died in Bolzano on 25 May 2010.

Legacy

Tony Cragg sculpture hommage a Silvio Magnago

Due to his long-time commitment to

self-governance Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority (sociology), authority. It may refer to pers ...

of his native province, he is widely regarded as the ''father of South Tyrolean autonomy''.

Bibliography

* Hans Benedikter: ''Silvius Magnago: ein Leben für Südtirol''. Athesia, Bozen 1983, . * Claudio Calabrese: ''Silvius Magnago: il patriarca (1914–2010)''. Praxis 3, Bozen 2010, . * Hans Karl Peterlini: ''Silvius Magnago. Das Vermächtnis: Bekenntnisse einer politischen Legende''. Edition Raetia, Bozen 2007, . * Gottfried Solderer (ed.): ''Silvius Magnago: eine Biographie Südtirols''. Edition Raetia, Bozen 1996, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnago, Silvius 1914 births 2010 deaths Governors of South Tyrol Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Landtag of South Tyrol Members of the Regional Council of Trentino-Alto Adige People from Merano South Tyrolean People's Party politicians Germanophone Italian people