Giulio Andreotti

Giulio Andreotti , 1919-, Italian political leader. A member of the Christian Democratic party, Andreotti held a variety of ministerial posts throughout the 1950s and 60s and first served as premier in 1972-73. He subsequently held the premiership again (1976-79), was minister for foreign affairs (1983-89), and returned for a third period as premier (1989-91). In 1993, he was investigated for corruption and accused of protecting the Mafia. Indicted in 1995, he also went to trial in 1996 for ordering the murder of a journalist said to have incriminating information. In 1999, he was acquitted of both sets of charges, a decision that ultimately was upheld on appeal.

Andreotti, Giulio (b. 14 Jan. 1919). Prime Minister of Italy 1972–3, 1976–9, 1989–92 As a law student at the University of Rome, where he met Moro and Montini ( Pope Paul VI), he became President of the Italian Catholic University Federation. Subsequently, as a protégé of De Gasperi since 1944 he rose quickly within the Christian Democratic Party (DC). He was Minister of the Interior (1954), of Finance (1955–8), of Treasury (1958–9), of Defence (1959–66), and of Industry (1966–9), and formed his first government in 1972. His second tenure of office was more successful as a result of a pact with the Italian Communist Party, which promised to tolerate his government in return for concessions from the DC. At the same time, his government struggled to find a solution to the terrorist crisis which peaked with Moro's assassination. He was Foreign Minister in 1983–9. His last period as Prime Minister was marked by old-fashioned power-broking between the parties within his five-party coalition, instead of the application of cautious government reform begun by his predecessors during the 1980s. His personality and his success epitomized the postwar Italian political system, marked by compromise, pragmatism, and an inability to overcome corruption. In fact, he has stood trial from 1993 on charges of corruption (Tangentopoli) and membership of the Mafia. He was cleared of the charges in 1999, but from 2001, the case was retried on appeal.