Politician and Prime Minister of Italy (1945–53) who contributed
to the material and moral reconstruction of his nation after World
War II. In those days, he met often with Robert Schuman and Konrad
Adenauer setting up the conditions of ulterior advancements in the
European integration.
De Gasperi was elected
deputy to the Italian parliament in 1921 as one of the founders of
the Italian Popular Party (Partito Popolare Italiano; PPI). Hostile
to the fascists, in 1927 he was arrested and sentenced to four years
imprisonment.
Active in the resistance
during World War II, he succeeded in reorganising the PPI as the Christian
Democratic Party (CDP). He became secretary of the CDP. Minister of
foreign affairs in the two succeeding cabinets, De Gasperi formed
his own cabinet on Dec. 10, 1945. He was to remain in office for more
than seven years.
In foreign affairs he fought
to restore an influential role in international politics for Italy.
Seeking closer ties with the West, Italy entered the NATO in 1951.
A leading proponent of the formation of a federation of democratic
European states, he helped organise the Council of Europe and the
European Coal and Steel Community (1951).
Juan Carlos Ocaña
History
of the European Union: Integration Process and European Citizenship
