Agnelli, Susanna (1922–)

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Agnelli, Susanna (1922–)

Italian politician and writer. Name variations: Susanna Rattazzi, Countess Rattazzi. Born in Turin, Italy, April 24, 1922; dau. of Edoardo Agnelli and Princess Virginia Bourbon del Monte Agnelli; sister of industrialists Giovanni and Umberto Agnelli; m. Count Urbano Rattazzi, a lawyer (div. 1971); children: 6.

The 1st Italian woman to hold the post of foreign minister, grew up in a family of immense wealth and influence (her paternal grandfather was the industrialist Giovanni Agnelli, founder of FIAT automobile company); entered the public arena relatively late in life, serving as town councillor and mayor of Monte Argentario (1974–84); elected for 2 terms to Italian Parliament on Republican Party ticket (1976, 1979); was a member of the European Parliament (1979–81); elected to Italian Senate (1983); appointed to post of undersecretary of state for foreign affairs with responsibility for South and North American Affairs (1983); member of the World Commission on Environment and Development, Geneva (1984–87); became Italy's 1st woman minister of foreign affairs (Jan 1995).

See also autobiography We Always Wore Sailor Suits (Viking, 1975); and Women in World History.