Lamberto Dini
Encyclopedia
is an Italian
politician and economist. He was the 75th Prime Minister of Italy
from 1995 to 1996 and Foreign Minister
from 1996 to 2001.
, Dini took up a post at the International Monetary Fund
in 1959, where he worked his way up until he served as Executive Director for Italy
, Greece
, Portugal
and Malta
between 1976 and 1979. Then, in October 1979, he moved to the Banca d'Italia
, where he served as executive until May 1994. When the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
, with whom Dini had developed a rivalry, was called upon to serve as Premier, in April, 1993, Dini was widely tipped to succeed him, but was passed over (allegedly on Ciampi's instigation) in favour of Antonio Fazio
.
Dini scored a comeback, though, when Silvio Berlusconi
formed the Berlusconi I Cabinet
in May 1994, in which Dini served as Treasury Minister. Due to a split between Berlusconi and his coalition partner Umberto Bossi
, the Lega Nord leader, Berlusconi's government collapsed in December 1994, after a mere seven months in power. In January 1995, Dini was appointed Prime Minister by President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
. Though he was not noted as a left-winger, Dini, was given the confidence vote of the left-wing parties (apart from the Communist Refoundation) and by Lega Nord, whereas his erstwhile partners in the right-wing government chose to abstain whilst citing benevolence. In theory, his cabinet was a technocratic
one.
was called, in which Berlusconi's House of Freedoms
coalition, minus the Lega Nord, was pitted against that of Romano Prodi
, The Olive Tree. Relations between Dini and Berlusconi had seriously soured by then, and Dini chose to join The Olive Tree with his own centrist
party, Italian Renewal
. Dini was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
, and served for the entire term as Minister of Foreign Affairs in four successive centre-left governments, under Prodi, Massimo D'Alema
in two separate, successive cabinets, and finally Giuliano Amato
.
His party has merged into Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy, a larger party formed out of several centrist parties belonging to the centre-left coalition. The May 2001 the general election
was won by Berlusconi and his allies (including, once again, Lega Nord), which led to Berlusconi forming his second government in June. Dini was elected to the Italian Senate
, and, in this capacity, served as a delegate to the Convention in charge of drafting the European Constitution (February 2002-July 2003).
to form the new big tent
centre-left Democratic Party
, Dini broke away from The Daisy to form the Liberal Democrats
, a new incarnation of Italian Renewal.
As protagonist of the defeat of the government
of Prime Minister Romano Prodi
in a January 2008 Senate vote, in view of the 2008 Italian general election
Dini joined The People of Freedom
, the newly created Italian liberal-conservative party led by Silvio Berlusconi
.
; the honour will be presented to him by the Emperor and the Japanese Prime Minister in a formal ceremony in May.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politician and economist. He was the 75th Prime Minister of Italy
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
from 1995 to 1996 and Foreign Minister
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
As in most countries, in Italy the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is one of the most important ministerial positions...
from 1996 to 2001.
Early life and Berlusconi cabinet
After studying Economics in his native city of FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Dini took up a post at the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
in 1959, where he worked his way up until he served as Executive Director for Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
between 1976 and 1979. Then, in October 1979, he moved to the Banca d'Italia
Banca d'Italia
Banca d'Italia is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, Roma, via Nazionale...
, where he served as executive until May 1994. When the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
dr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006...
, with whom Dini had developed a rivalry, was called upon to serve as Premier, in April, 1993, Dini was widely tipped to succeed him, but was passed over (allegedly on Ciampi's instigation) in favour of Antonio Fazio
Antonio Fazio
Antonio Fazio is an Italian banker, who was the Governor of Banca d'Italia from 1993 until his resignation amidst controversy at the end of 2005....
.
Dini scored a comeback, though, when Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
formed the Berlusconi I Cabinet
Berlusconi I Cabinet
The Berlusconi I Cabinet was the cabinet of the government of Italy from 10 May 1994 to January 17, 1995.It was composed of 26 ministers and 38 under-secretaries, for a total of 64 members.Composition of the government:...
in May 1994, in which Dini served as Treasury Minister. Due to a split between Berlusconi and his coalition partner Umberto Bossi
Umberto Bossi
Umberto Bossi is an Italian politician, leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy. He is married to Manuela Marrone and has four sons ....
, the Lega Nord leader, Berlusconi's government collapsed in December 1994, after a mere seven months in power. In January 1995, Dini was appointed Prime Minister by President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro , Italian politician and magistrate, was the ninth President of the Italian Republic from 1992 to 1999, and is currently a senator for life...
. Though he was not noted as a left-winger, Dini, was given the confidence vote of the left-wing parties (apart from the Communist Refoundation) and by Lega Nord, whereas his erstwhile partners in the right-wing government chose to abstain whilst citing benevolence. In theory, his cabinet was a technocratic
Technocracy (bureaucratic)
Technocracy is a form of government where technical experts are in control of decision making in their respective fields. Economists, engineers, scientists, health professionals, and those who have knowledge, expertise or skills would compose the governing body...
one.
The Olive Tree
In April, 1996, a general electionItalian general election, 1996
An early national general election was held in Italy on 21 April, 1996 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic...
was called, in which Berlusconi's House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
coalition, minus the Lega Nord, was pitted against that of Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
, The Olive Tree. Relations between Dini and Berlusconi had seriously soured by then, and Dini chose to join The Olive Tree with his own centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
party, Italian Renewal
Italian Renewal
The Italian Renewal was a liberal-centrist political party in Italy.It was founded in 1996 by Lamberto Dini along with some former Liberals, Socialists, Christian Democrats, Republicans and Social Democrats...
. Dini was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
, and served for the entire term as Minister of Foreign Affairs in four successive centre-left governments, under Prodi, Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema
Massimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
in two separate, successive cabinets, and finally Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...
.
His party has merged into Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy, a larger party formed out of several centrist parties belonging to the centre-left coalition. The May 2001 the general election
Italian general election, 2001
A national general election was held in Italy on May 13, 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. The 14th Parliament of the Italian republic was chosen....
was won by Berlusconi and his allies (including, once again, Lega Nord), which led to Berlusconi forming his second government in June. Dini was elected to the Italian Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
, and, in this capacity, served as a delegate to the Convention in charge of drafting the European Constitution (February 2002-July 2003).
The People of Freedom
In September 2007, a month before Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy merged with the Democrats of the LeftDemocrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
to form the new big tent
Big tent
In politics, a big tent party or catch-all party is a political party seeking to attract people with diverse viewpoints. The party does not require adherence to some ideology as a criterion for membership...
centre-left Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
, Dini broke away from The Daisy to form the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats (Italy)
The Liberal Democrats are a liberal-centrist political party in Italy.Its long-time leader was Senator Lamberto Dini, former Minister of the Treasury, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.-History:...
, a new incarnation of Italian Renewal.
As protagonist of the defeat of the government
2008 Italian political crisis
On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 votes, causing the downfall of his government. Prodi's resignation led President Giorgio Napolitano to request the president of the Senate, Franco Marini, to assess the...
of Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
in a January 2008 Senate vote, in view of the 2008 Italian general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
Dini joined The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
, the newly created Italian liberal-conservative party led by Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
.
Honours
On 29 April 2009, the Japanese government announced that it has awarded Dini the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising SunOrder of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
; the honour will be presented to him by the Emperor and the Japanese Prime Minister in a formal ceremony in May.