Giuseppe Tatarella (17 September 1935 – 8 February 1999), also known as Pinuccio Tatarella, was an Italian politician who served as deputy prime minister in the first cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995.

Giuseppe Tatarella
Deputy Prime Minister of Italy
In office
10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995
Serving with Roberto Maroni
Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi
Preceded byClaudio Martelli
Succeeded byWalter Veltroni
Minister of Communications
In office
10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995
Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi
Preceded byMaurizio Pagani
Succeeded byAgostino Gambino
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
20 June 1979 – 8 February 1999
ConstituencyApulia
Personal details
Born(1935-09-17)17 September 1935
Cerignola, Kingdom of Italy
Died8 February 1999(1999-02-08) (aged 63)
Turin, Italy
Political party
  • MSI (until 1995)
  • AN (1995–1999)

Early life and education edit

Tatarella was born in Cerignola, Apulia, in 1935.[1][2] He held a law degree.[2]

Career edit

Tatarella was a lawyer and journalist.[3] He worked for the local branches of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a neo-fascist party that was launched by Benito Mussolini's followers in 1946 based on his strong nationalistic ideals.[2][3] In the 1960s, he launched the weekly Puglia d'Oggi (Puglia Today).[1] In 1970, he became a member of the Puglia regional council.[1] In 1979, he was first elected to the Italian Parliament and retained his seat until 1999.[1][2] Tatarella was among the co-founders of National Alliance (AN) in January 1994.[4][5] He became one of its senior member.[3] The party was the continuation of the MSI.[3] He served as floor leader of the AN at the parliament for a long time.[6] In 1996, he took over the Il Roma, a Naples-based daily, and served as its editor until 1999.[1]

Tatarella was appointed deputy prime minister to the first Berlusconi government, which was the first right-wing cabinet of Italy after World War II, on 10 May 1994.[7][8] He also served as Minister of Post and Telecommunications.[9] Although he was one of four AN members in the same cabinet,[10] only Tatarella's appointment was regarded as significant,[11] and he was surnamed the minister of harmony.[12] Tatarella was in office until 1995. He also won his seat from Bari in the 1996 Italian general election.[13] In January 1997, he was named as the head of a parliamentary subcommittee.[14] It was one of four subcommittees that constituted a bicameral committee of Parliament set up to discuss the institutional reorganization of Italy.[14]

During his political career, Tatarella was often described and viewed as a fascist, which he denied. Tatarella said that he had joined the MSI not because he was nostalgic of Italian fascism but because it was the strongest anti-communist party.[15] He defined himself thusly: "I am a nationalist, a Catholic and a democrat."[1] Belgian minister Elio Di Rupo refused to shake Tatarella's hand during a meeting in Brussels when Tatarella was serving as deputy prime minister and ministry of posts and telecommunications.[16] It was due to the negative image of AN.[16]

Death edit

Tatarella died of a heart attack at a hospital in Turin at age 63 on 8 February 1999.[17][18] A funeral service was performed for him in Bari.[17]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Hanley, Anne (11 February 1999). "Obituary: Giuseppe Tatarella". The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sketches of five National Alliance Ministers in Italy's 53rd postwar government". Associated Press. 11 May 1994. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d Peggy Polk (14 May 1994). "New Italy Leaders Prefer'Post-fascist' Label". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  4. ^ Alan Cowell (21 December 1994). "Italian Leader In Showdown With Ex-Ally". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  5. ^ Gregorio Sorgonà (2022). "The Italian Right-Wing and the European Integration Process: The Case of the Italian Social Movement". Journal of Modern Italian Studies. 27 (3): 393. doi:10.1080/1354571X.2022.2044646. hdl:11384/136167. S2CID 248779576.
  6. ^ Patricia Clough (11 May 1994). "Berlusconi hands top posts to the neo-Fascists". The Independent. Rome. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  7. ^ William D. =Montalbano (11 May 1994). "Italian Premier Forms Rightist Government". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  8. ^ "List of ministers in Italy's 53rd postwar government". Associated Press. 10 May 1994. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  9. ^ Carlo Ruzza; Oliver Schmidtke (1996). "Towards a modern Right: Alleanza Nazionale and the 'Italian Revolution'". In Stephen Gundle; Simon Parker (eds.). The New Italian Republic: From the Fall of the Berlin Wall to Berlusconi. London; New York: Routledge. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-415-12162-0.
  10. ^ De Giorgi, Elsiabetta; Marangoni, Francesco (2009). "The First Year of Berlusconi's Fourth Government: Formation, Characteristics and Activities" (PDF). Bulletin of Italian Politics. 1 (1): 87–109.
  11. ^ Fella, Stefano; Ruzza, Carlo (2009). Re-incenting the Italian Right: Territorial politics, populism and 'post-fascism'. London; New York: Routledge. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-134-28634-8.
  12. ^ "Tatarella: a sedici anni dalla scomparsa speciale sul Secolo on line". Adnkronos (in Italian). 18 December 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  13. ^ Carr, Adam (2005). "Italian Republic legislative elections of 22 April 1996". Psephos. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b Gilbert, Mark (1998). "Transforming Italy's institutions? The bicameral committee on institutional reform". Modern Italy. 3 (1): 49–66. doi:10.1080/13532949808454791. S2CID 144222894.
  15. ^ Di Giacomo, Girolamo (2014). Dormono sulla collina: 1969-2014 (in Italian). Il Saggiatore. ISBN 978-88-6576-385-8 – via Google Books. 'Ero figlio di un calzolaio, e mi iscrissi al MSI perché era il partito più anticomunista di tutti. E io non ero per il fascismo, ma per l'anticomunismo.'
  16. ^ a b Brann, Sara L.; Carioti, Antonio (1996). "From the Ghetto to Palazzo Chigi: The Ascent of the National Alliance". In S. Katz Richard; Ignazi Piero (eds.). Italian Politics. The Year of the Tycoon. Vol. 10. New York: Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 9780429499548. JSTOR 45402576.
  17. ^ a b "Giuseppe Tatarella, 63, Italian Political Activist". Sun Sentinel. Rome. 10 February 1999. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  18. ^ "Deaths elsewhere". The Baltimore Sun. 10 February 1999. Retrieved 27 February 2013.

External links edit