Enrico De Nicola

Senator for life Enrico De Nicola OMRI
1st President of Italy
In office 1 January 1948 – 12 May 1948
Prime Minister	Alcide De Gasperi
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Luigi Einaudi
Provisional Head of State of Italy
In office 1 July 1946 – 1 January 1948
Prime Minister	Alcide De Gasperi
Preceded by	Alcide De Gasperi
Succeeded by	Position abolished
President of the Constitutional Court
In office 23 January 1956 – 26 March 1957
Head of State	Giovanni Gronchi
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Gaetano Azzariti
President of the Italian Senate
In office 28 April 1951 – 24 June 1952
Head of State	Luigi Einaudi
Preceded by	Ivanoe Bonomi
Succeeded by	Giuseppe Paratore
President of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 26 June 1920 – 25 January 1924
Monarch	Vittorio Emanuele III
Preceded by	Vittorio Emanuele Orlando
Succeeded by	Alfredo Rocco
Personal details
Born	9 November 1877 Naples, Campania, Kingdom of Italy
Died	1 October 1959 (aged 81) Torre del Greco, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	Italian Liberal Party
Alma mater	Frederick II University
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Enrico De Nicola, OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [enˈriːko de niˈkɔːla]; 9 November 1877 – 1 October 1959) was an Italian jurist, journalist, politician, and provisional Head of State of republican Italy from 1946 to 1948. Afterwards, he became the first President of the Italian Republic on 1 January 1948.^[1]

Biography

Enrico De Nicola was born in Naples and became famous as one of the most esteemed penal lawyers in Italy. He studied law in the University of Naples, graduating in 1896.^[2] As a Liberal he was elected a deputy for the first time in 1909 and, from 1913 to 1921, he filled minor governmental posts until the advent of fascism, when he retired from political life. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in the Giolitti government (November 1913-March 1914) and Under-Secretary of State for the Treasury in the Orlando cabinet (January–June 1919). On 26 June 1920, he was elected speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, holding office until January 1924. He was appointed senator by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1929, but he refused to take his seat and never took part in the workings of the Assembly.^[3]

He returned to his law practice, only taking an interest in politics again after the fall of Italian Fascism. After Benito Mussolini's fall from power in 1943, king Victor Emmanuel tried to extricate the monarchy from its collaboration with the Fascist regime; De Nicola was perhaps the most influential mediator in the ensuing transition. The king's son Umberto acquired a new title of "Lieutenant-General of the Realm" and took over most of the functions of the sovereign. Victor Emanuel later abdicated; Umberto became king as Umberto II and a Constitutional Referendum was held, won by republicans. A new Constituent Assembly was elected, and prime minister Alcide de Gasperi became acting head of state for a few weeks when Umberto II was exiled and left Italy. The Constituent Assembly then elected De Nicola Provisional Head of State on 28 June 1946, with 80% of the votes, at the first round of voting. Giulio Andreotti later recalled that De Nicola — a man of great modesty — was not sure whether to accept the nomination, and underwent frequent changes of mind in the face of repeated insistence by all the major political leaders. Andreotti had then to write to him: "Your Excellency, please, decide to decide if you can accept to accept...."^[4]

On 25 June 1947, De Nicola resigned from the post, citing health reasons, but the Constituent Assembly immediately re-elected him again the following day, having recognized in his act signs of nobility and humility. After the Italian Constitution took effect, he was formally named the "President of the Italian Republic" on 1 January 1948. He finally refused to be a candidate for the first constitutional election the following May, in which Luigi Einaudi was elected to the Quirinale, the formal seat of the Italian presidency.^[5]

In 1956, De Nicola became a senator for life as a former Head of State, and later was elected President of the Senate, and of the Constitutional Court.

He died at Torre del Greco, in the province of Naples, in 1959.

De Nicola signs the Italian Constitution on 27 December 1947

Honors

- Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity

- Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1956)^[6]

Political Titles

His other Political Titles included President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Temporary Chief of the Italian State and President of the Italian Senate.^[7]

References

1. Favor, Lesli J. (2004). Italy: a primary source cultural guide. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 36. ISBN 0-8239-3839-5.
2. http://www.worldpresidentsdb.com/Enrico-De-Nicola/
3. S.M. Sergio, Elogio dell'Avvocato, Pironti (Italian) Accessed 27 October 2010
4. B. Vespa, Storia d'Italia da Mussolini a Berlusconi, p. 32 (Italian)
5. Cristina Mascheroni, Enrico De Nicola, Infobergamo (2006) (Italian) Accessed 26 January 2012
6. Italian Government website: details of award to De Nicola
7. http://www.archontology.org/nations/italy/presidents_italy1/denicola.php

Bibliography

• Andrea Jelardi, Enrico De Nicola. Il presidente galantuomo, Kairòs , Naples (2009). (Italian)