Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

Senator 
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

In office
18 May 1999 – 15 May 2006
Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema
Giuliano Amato
Silvio Berlusconi
Preceded by Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Succeeded by Giorgio Napolitano
73rd Prime Minister of Italy
In office
28 April 1993 – 10 May 1994
President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Preceded by Giuliano Amato
Succeeded by Silvio Berlusconi
Italian Minister of Tourism
In office
28 April 1993 – 10 May 1994
Prime Minister himself
Preceded by Margherita Boniver
Succeeded by Domenico Fisichella
Italian Minister of the Interior
In office
19 April 1994 – 10 May 1994
Prime Minister himself
Preceded by Nicola Mancino
Succeeded by Roberto Maroni
Italian Minister of Exchequer, Budget and Economy Programming
In office
17 July 1996 – 13 May 1999
Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Massimo D'Alema
Preceded by Lamberto Dini
as Minister of exchequer
Mario Arcelli
as Minister of budget and economy programming
Succeeded by Giuliano Amato
Governor of Banca d'Italia
In office
1979–1993
Preceded by Paolo Baffi
Succeeded by Antonio Fazio
Incumbent
Assumed office 
18 May 2006
Constituency Former president
Born 9 December 1920 (1920-12-09) (age 90)
Livorno, Italy
Nationality Italian
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse(s) Franca Pilla
Residence Rome, Italy
Alma mater Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
University of Pisa
Profession Economist
Politician
Religion Roman Catholicism

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkarlo aˈdzɛʎʎo ˈtʃampi]  ( listen); born 9 December 1920[1]) is an Italian politician and banker. He was the 73rd Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and was the tenth President of the Italian Republic from 1999 to 2006. He is currently a Senator for life in the Italian Senate.

Contents

Biography

Education

Ciampi was born in Livorno (Province of Livorno).[1]

After receiving a degree in literature in 1941 from the Scuola Normale of Pisa, one of the country's most prestigious universities, he was called to military duty in Albania as a lieutenant. On 8 September 1943, the date of the armistice with the Allies, he refused to remain in the Fascist Italian Social Republic, and took refuge in Abruzzo, in Scanno. He subsequently managed to pass the lines and reach Bari, where he joined the Partito d'Azione (and thus the Italian resistance movement).

In 1946 he married Franca Pila. That same year, he obtained a degree in law from the University of Pisa and began working at the Banca d'Italia. He also inscribed to CGIL, a member of which he remained until 1980.

Oxford University awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree in March 2005.

Career in the Banca d'Italia

In 1960, he was called to work in the central administration of the Banca d'Italia, where he became Secretary General in 1973, Vice Director General in 1976, and Director General in 1978. In October 1979, he was nominated Governor of the Banca d'Italia and President of the Ufficio Italiano Cambi, positions he filled until 1993.

Prime Minister

From April 1993 to May 1994, he was the Italian Prime Minister overseeing a technical government. Later, as Treasury Minister from 1996 to May 1999 in the governments of Romano Prodi and Massimo D'Alema, he was credited with adopting the euro currency. He personally chose the Italian design for the 1-euro coin, whereas all others were left to a television vote among some candidates the ministry had prepared. (See also: Italian euro coins)

Ciampi chose the Vitruvian man of Leonardo da Vinci, on the symbolic grounds that it represented man as a measure of all things, and in particular of the coin: in this perspective, money was at the service of man, instead of its opposite. The design also fitted very well on the bimetallic material of the coin.

President of Italy

Ciampi was elected with a broad majority, and was the second president ever to be elected at the first ballot (when there is a requirement of a two-thirds majority) in a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies, the Italian Senate and representatives of the Regions.

He usually refrained from intervening directly into the political debate while serving as President. However, he often addressed general issues, without mentioning their connection to the current political debate, in order to state his opinion without being too intrusive. His interventions have frequently stressed the need for all parties to respect the constitution and observe the proprieties of political debate. He was generally held in high regard by all political forces represented in the parliament. The possibility of persuading Ciampi to stand for a second term as President - the so-called Ciampi-bis - was widely discussed, despite his advancing age, but it was officially dismissed by Ciampi himself on 3 May 2006, just a few days before his mandate expired. Ciampi resigned as President before the swearing-in ceremony of his successor, Giorgio Napolitano.

As President, Ciampi was not considered to be close to the positions of the Vatican and the Catholic church, in a sort of alternance after the devout Oscar Luigi Scalfaro. He has often praised patriotism, not always a common feeling in Italy because of its abuse by the Fascist regime; Ciampi, however, seems to want to stress self-confidence rather than nationalism.

On 5 May 2005, he received the Charlemagne Award of the city of Aachen. On 15 June 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the École Normale Supérieure of Paris.

On 1 May 2008, he attended Charlemagne Award of the city of Aachen.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Page at Senate website (Italian).
Government offices
Preceded by
Paolo Baffi		 Governor of Banca d'Italia
1979 - 1993		 Succeeded by
Antonio Fazio
Political offices
Preceded by
Giuliano Amato		 President of the Council of Ministers of Italy
1993 - 1994		 Succeeded by
Silvio Berlusconi
Preceded by
Margherita Boniver		 Italian Minister of Tourism and Show
1993-1994		 Succeeded by
Domenico Fisichella
Preceded by
Nicola Mancino		 Italian Minister of the Interior
1994		 Succeeded by
Roberto Maroni
Preceded by
Lamberto Dini and
Mario Arcelli		 Italian Minister of exchequer, budget and economy programming
1996-1999		 Succeeded by
Giuliano Amato
Preceded by
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro		 President of the Italian Republic
1999-2006		 Succeeded by
Giorgio Napolitano
Order of precedence
Preceded by
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Former President of the Italian Republic		 Italian order of precedence
Former President of the Italian Republic		 Succeeded by
Vice Presidents of the Italian Senate