Stefano Siglienti (1898 – 1971) was an Italian banker and politician who served as the

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 18 June until 12 December 1944. He held several banking posts until his death.

Early life and education

Hailed from an intellectual

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

family, Siglienti was born in

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

on 17 January 1898 to Alberto Siglienti, a lawyer, and Francesca Conti. He received a law degree in 1921.

Career and activities

Following graduation from high school, Siglienti began to work at a local bank in Sassari. He took part in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a second lieutenant and was decorated by the

King of Italy King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

in July 1918 due to his activities in the war. He was one of the founders of the Action Party in Sardinia. In 1923, he began to work at the Sardinian Land Bank of which he became deputy director general in 1945. In 1925, he moved to Rome and contributed to the publications, including '' Il Mondo'' and '' Il Becco Giallo''. In 1929, he was involved in the formation of

Giustizia e Libertà Giustizia e Libertà (; ) was an Italian anti-fascist resistance movement, active from 1929 to 1945.James D. Wilkinson (1981). ''The Intellectual Resistance Movement in Europe''. Harvard University Press. p. 224. The movement was cofounded by ...

(GL), an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

resistance movement, together with Riccardo Bauer,

Ugo La Malfa Ugo La Malfa (16 May 1903 – 26 March 1979) was an Italian politician and an important leader of the Italian Republican Party (''Partito Repubblicano Italiano''; PRI). Early years and anti-fascist resistance La Malfa was born in Palermo, Sic ...

, and Raffaele Mattioli. On 19 November 1943, Siglienti was arrested by the ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

'' and was kept in the

Regina Coeli prison ; ) is the best known prison in the city of Rome. It was formerly a Catholic convent and became a prison in 1881. History The prison was originally a Catholic convent (hence the name), built in 1654 in the rioni of Rome, rione of Trastevere. ...

. He managed to escape from the prison through the assistance of his wife, Ines, who had also been involved in the clandestine struggle against

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 ...

. Therefore, Siglienti was saved from being one of the victims of the

Ardeatine massacre The Ardeatine massacre, or Fosse Ardeatine massacre (), was a mass killing of 335 civilians and political prisoners carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War as a reprisal for the Via Rasell ...

that would take place a few days later on 24 March 1944. He was appointed minister of finance in June 1944 to the cabinet led by

Ivanoe Bonomi Ivanoe Bonomi (; 18 October 1873 – 20 April 1951) was an Italian politician and journalist who served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1921 to 1922 and again from 1944 to 1945. Background and earlier career Ivanoe Bonomi was born in Mant ...

and was in office until December 1944. From 1 March to 10 December 1945, Siglienti worked as the commissioner of the

Banca IMI Banca IMI is a subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo which is specialized in investment banking and capital markets. The bank can trace its origins to the Istituto Mobiliare Italiano. IMI merged with Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino to form Sanpaolo ...

and then became its president. That same year, he was also named a member of the National Council. In addition, he was appointed president of the

Italian Banking Association Associazione Bancaria Italiana is the trade association of Italian banks. The association was founded in 1919, few years after the Association of Italian Saving Banks (ACRI, founded 1912), the Association of Italian Rural Credit Unions (''Cassa R ...

, in September 1945 a position that he held until 1971.

Personal life and death

Siglienti married Ines Berlinguer, sister of politician

Mario Berlinguer Mario Berlinguer (; 29 August 1891 – 5 September 1969) was an Italian lawyer and politician. Early life and family Born on 29 August 1891 in Sassari, Sardinia, Kingdom of Italy, Berlinguer descended from a noble Sardinian family of Catala ...

, in September 1924. They had a son and three daughters: Sergio (1926–2020), Lina, Laura, and Francesca. Siglienti died in Rome on 5 April 1971.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siglienti, Stefano 20th-century Italian journalists 1898 births 1971 deaths Action Party (Italy) politicians Ministers of finance of Italy Italian anti-fascists Italian bankers Italian military personnel of World War I Italian political party founders Italian prisoners and detainees Members of Giustizia e Libertà Members of the National Council (Italy) People from Sassari Politicians of Sardinia