Giuseppe Saragat

Giuseppe Saragat (Italian: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈsaːraɡat]; 19 September 1898 – 11 June 1988)^[2] was an Italian politician and statesman who served as President of Italy from 1964 to 1971.

Giuseppe Saragat
Official portrait, 1971
President of Italy
In office 29 December 1964 – 29 December 1971
Prime Minister	Aldo Moro Giovanni Leone Mariano Rumor Emilio Colombo
Preceded by	Antonio Segni
Succeeded by	Giovanni Leone
President of the Constituent Assembly
In office 25 June 1946 – 6 February 1947
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Umberto Terracini
Ministerial offices Minister of Foreign Affairs In office 4 December 1963 – 22 July 1964 Prime Minister Aldo Moro Preceded by Attilio Piccioni Succeeded by Aldo Moro Deputy Prime Minister of Italy In office 10 February 1954 – 19 May 1957 Prime Minister Mario Scelba Antonio Segni Preceded by Attilio Piccioni Succeeded by Giuseppe Pella In office 1 June 1947 – 27 January 1950 Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Attilio Piccioni
Parliamentary offices Member of the Senate of the Republic Ex officio Life tenure 29 December 1971 – 11 June 1988 Member of the Chamber of Deputies In office 8 May 1948 – 29 December 1964 Constituency Turin–Novara–Vercelli Member of the Constituent Assembly In office 25 June 1946 – 31 January 1948 Constituency Rome
Personal details
Born	(1898-09-19)19 September 1898 Turin, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy
Died	11 June 1988(1988-06-11) (aged 89) Rome, Lazio, Italy
Political party	PSU (1922–1930) PSI (1930–1947) PSDI (1947–1988)
Spouse	Giuseppina Bollani ​ ​ (m. 1926; died 1961)​ [1]
Alma mater	University of Turin
Signature

Early life

Saragat was born on 19 September 1898 in Turin, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy, to Sardinian parents. He was a member of the Unitary Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Unitario; PSU) from 1922. He moved to Vienna in 1926 and to France in 1929.

Political career

Following the dissolution of the PSU in 1930, Saragat joined the Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI). A reformist, he was a democratic socialist who left the PSI in 1947 out of concern over its then-close alliance with the Italian Communist Party. He subsequently founded the Socialist Party of Italian Workers (Partito Socialista dei Lavoratori Italiani, PSLI), which in 1952 became the Italian Democratic Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Democratico Italiano; PSDI). He was to be the paramount leader of the PSDI for the rest of his life.^[3]

In 1944, Saragat had been a minister without portfolio and ambassador in Paris from 1945 to 1946, before he was appointed president of the Constituent Assembly of Italy that same year upon the establishment of the Italian Republic. He was minister of foreign affairs in the Moro I Cabinet and Moro II Cabinet, headed by Christian Democracy leader Aldo Moro from 1963 to late 1964, when he was chosen as President of the Italian Republic. His election demonstrated a rare instance of unity among the Italian left and followed rumours of a possible neo-fascist coup, Piano Solo, during Antonio Segni's presidency.^[3][4]

Saragat died in Rome, Lazio, on 11 June 1988. An atheist,^[1] he is said to have become a Catholic and had a religious funeral.^[5]

Electoral history

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1946	Constituent Assembly	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSIUP	29,981	Y Elected
1948	Chamber of Deputies	Turin–Novara–Vercelli		US	31,988	Y Elected
1953	Chamber of Deputies	Turin–Novara–Vercelli		PSDI	16,833	Y Elected
1958	Chamber of Deputies	Turin–Novara–Vercelli		PSDI	12,484	Y Elected
1963	Chamber of Deputies	Turin–Novara–Vercelli		PSDI	24,539	Y Elected

Presidential elections

1964 presidential election (21st ballot)
Candidate		Supported by	Votes	%
	Giuseppe Saragat	PSDI, DC, PSI, PCI, PRI	646	67.1
	Gaetano Martino	PLI	56	5.8
	Augusto De Marsanich	MSI, PDIUM	40	4.1
	Others / Invalid votes		185	19.2
Total			927	100.0

Notes