Mario Zagari

Mario Zagari
Minister of Justice
In office 7 July 1973 – 23 November 1974
Prime Minister	Mariano Rumor
Preceded by	Guido Gonella
Succeeded by	Oronzo Reale
Member of the European Parliament
In office 17 July 1979 – 24 July 1989
Constituency	Central Italy
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 16 May 1963 – 19 June 1979
Constituency	Rome
In office 8 May 1948 – 24 June 1953
Constituency	Rome
Member of the Constituent Assembly
In office 25 June 1946 – 31 January 1948
Constituency	Rome
Personal details
Born	14 September 1913 Milan, Kingdom of Italy
Died	29 February 1996(1996-02-29) (aged 82) Rome, Italy
Resting place	Protestant Cemetery, Rome
Political party	PSI (1943–1947; 1959–1994) PSDI (1947–1959)
Alma mater	University of Milan

Mario Zagari (14 September 1913 – 29 February 1996) was an Italian socialist politician.

Early life and education

Zagari was born in Milan on 14 September 1913.[1] He held a law degree, which he received from the University of Milan.[2] He attended courses of political economy at the University of Berlin.[2]

During World War II, Zagari was an anti-Nazi resistance militant.[3]

Career

After the war Zagari began his political activity. He was leader of the anti-Stalinist group, called Iniziativa Socialista.[4] In the late 1960s Zagari was part of the right-wing group in the party together with Pietro Nenni and Giovanni Pieraccini.[5]

Zagari remained as a member of the Socialist Party until 24 July 1989.[1] He served as the undersecretary at the ministry of foreign affairs for three times (specifically, from 23 February 1966 to 5 June 1968, from 22 July 1964 to 21 January 1966 and from 12 December 1968 to 5 July 1969).[6][7]

In 1970 Zagari served as the minister of foreign trade in the cabinet of Mariano Rumor and led the first Italian commercial delegation to China in 1971.[8] He was the justice minister from 7 July 1973 to 23 November 1974. Then he became one of twelve vice presidents of the European Parliament on 27 October 1976 and held the post until 18 January 1982.[1][9] He was part of the socialist group in the parliament.[9] He ran for the presidency of the parliament in the elections held in July 1979, but lost the election.[10] In addition, he served at different commissions and delegations of the parliament from 14 March 1978 to 24 July 1989.[1]

Controversy

After leaving office as justice minister Zagari was charged with abusing official acts, and making them public.[11] The inquiry committee of the parliament, whose twenty members had been selected in proportion to the membership of the parties, rejected the case with a majority vote.[11]

Death and legacy

Zagari died in Rome on 29 February 1996.[2] He was buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.[12] On the tenth anniversary of his death a book by him and Giuseppe Muzzi was republished in 2006.[13]

Electoral history

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1946	Constituent Assembly	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSIUP	5,525	Y Elected
1948	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		US	6,074	Y Elected
1953	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSDI	7,811	N Not elected
1958	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSDI	8,142	N Not elected
1963	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSI	17,787	Y Elected
1968	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSI	28,485	Y Elected
1972	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSI	36,080	Y Elected
1976	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PSI	29,215	Y Elected
1979	European Parliament	Central Italy		PSI	152,002	Y Elected
1984	European Parliament	Central Italy		PSI	70,926	Y Elected
1989	European Parliament	Central Italy		PSI	16,328	N Not elected

References

1. "Mario Zagari". European Parliament. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
2. "Mario Zagari (1913–1996)". Fondazione Turati. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
3. "European parliament launched". Bangor Daily News. Strasbourg. 18 July 1979. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
4. Paul Ginsborg (2003). A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics, 1943–1988. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-4039-6153-2.
5. Ilaria Favretto (2006). "The Wilson Governments and the Italian Centre-Left Coalitions: Between 'Socialist' Diplomacy and Realpolitik, 1964–70". European History Quarterly. 36 (3): 427. doi:10.1177/0265691406065283. S2CID 155083286.
6. "Past ministers". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
7. Elena Calandri (2003). "Italy's Foreign Assistance Policy, 1959–1969". Contemporary European History. 12 (4): 509–523. doi:10.1017/s0960777303001395. hdl:11577/143446. JSTOR 20081180. S2CID 162712727.
8. "Former Italian Ambassador to China Speaks Out". Alberto Forchielli blog. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
9. "European Parliament. Socialist Group" (PDF). European Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
10. "Simone Veil is First Elected Head of the European Parliament". Jewish News Archive (JTA). 19 July 1979.
11. Franco Ferraresi (1996). Threats to Democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-0691044996.
12. "About the Protestant Cemetery web site". Protestant Cemetery. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
13. Mario Zagari e l'Europa: scritti e discorsi, 1948-1993. OCLC 238819448 – via WorldCat.

External links

• Media related to Mario Zagari at Wikimedia Commons