Giuliano Amato

Giuliano Amato
OMRI
48th Prime Minister of Italy
In office
25 April 2000 – 11 June 2001
President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Preceded by Massimo D'Alema
Succeeded by Silvio Berlusconi
In office
28 June 1992 – 28 April 1993
President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Preceded by Giulio Andreotti
Succeeded by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Judge of the Constitutional Court
Assumed office
18 September 2013
Appointed by Giorgio Napolitano
Preceded by Franco Gallo
Minister of the Interior
In office
17 May 2006 – 8 May 2008
Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Preceded by Giuseppe Pisanu
Succeeded by Roberto Maroni
Minister of the Treasury, Budget and Economic Programming
In office
13 May 1999 – 25 April 2000
Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema
Preceded by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Succeeded by Vincenzo Visco
Minister for Institutional Reform
In office
21 October 1998 – 13 May 1999
Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema
Preceded by Franco Bassanini
Succeeded by Antonio Maccanico
Deputy Prime Minister of Italy
In office
28 July 1987 – 13 April 1988
Prime Minister Giovanni Goria
Preceded by Arnaldo Forlani
Succeeded by Gianni De Michelis
Minister of the Treasury
In office
28 July 1987 – 22 July 1989
Prime Minister Giovanni Goria
Ciriaco de Mita
Preceded by Giovanni Goria
Succeeded by Guido Carli
Personal details
Born (1938-05-13) 13 May 1938
Turin, Italy
Political party Italian Socialist (before 1994)
Independent (1994–2007)
Democratic (2007–present)
Spouse(s) Diana Vincenzi
Children Elisa
Lorenzo
Alma mater University of Pisa
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies
Columbia University
Religion Roman Catholicism

Giuliano Amato OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈljaːno aˈmaːto]; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Later, he was Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly nicknamed dottor Sottile, (which means "Doctor Subtilis", the sobriquet of the Scottish Medieval philosopher John Duns Scotus, a reference to his political subtlety). From 2006 to 2008, he was the Minister of the Interior in Romano Prodi's government. On 12 September 2013, President Giorgio Napolitano appointed him to the Constitutional Court of Italy, where he has served since then.[1]

Biography

Born in Turin into a Sicilian family, Amato grew up in Tuscany. He received a first degree in law from the University of Pisa in 1960, while attending the prestigious Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, and a master's degree in comparative law from Columbia Law School in 1963.[2] After teaching at the Universities of Modena, Perugia and Florence, he worked as professor of Italian and Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Rome La Sapienza from 1975 to 1997.[2]

Amato began his political career in 1958, when he joined the Italian Socialist Party. He was a Member of Parliament from 1983 to 1993. He was Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister's office from 1983 to 1987, Deputy Prime Minister from 1987 to 1988, and Minister for the Treasury from 1987 to 1989.

From June 1992 to April 1993, Amato served as Prime Minister. During those ten months, a series of corruption scandals rocked Italy and swept away almost an entire class of political leaders. Amato himself was never implicated, notwithstanding how close he was to Bettino Craxi, a central figure in the corruption system.

As Prime Minister, Amato responded effectively to two devaluations of the lira in the wake of currency speculation that led Italy to be expelled from the European Monetary System by cutting the budget deficit drastically, thus taking the first steps in the road that would bring Italy to adopt the Euro.

At a point, his government was harshly contested because of a decree that suddenly moved the competence for corruption investigations into the hands of the police, which, being controlled directly by the government, would have not been independent. Fearing that the new system would have effectively blocked investigations on political corruption, Italians took to the streets in massive, spontaneous rallies. President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro refused to sign the decree, deeming it blatantly unconstitutional. While his justice minister Giovanni Conso took the blame, it has been disputed whether Amato was a victim of circumstances or whether he really wanted to save the corruption-ridden system.

At the end of his period as Prime Minister, Amato gave a speech to the Parliament in which he solemnly promised that at end of his term he would retire from politics, stressing that his was a true commitment and that he would not break this promise as some politicians (whom he characterized as "mandarins") used to do. However, this promise was short-lived; Amato has regularly come under criticism for having made such a solemn commitment and failìng to keep it.

Amato was President of the Italian antitrust authority from November 1994 to December 1997,[3] Minister for Institutional Reforms in Massimo D'Alema's first government from October 1998 to May 1999, and, once again, Treasury Minister in D'Alema's second government from December 1999 to April 2000. Amato was nearly nominated for the Presidency of the Republic and was a close contender to replace Michel Camdessus as head of the International Monetary Fund.

Amato with Vladimir Putin in Rome, 2001

Amato served as Prime Minister again from April 2000 to May 2001. He promoted economic competitiveness as well as social protection. In addition to economic reforms, he pushed ahead with political and institutional reforms, trying to deal with a weak executive and fragmented legislature.

In December 2001, European Union leaders at the European Council in Laeken appointed Amato and former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene to be Vice Presidents of the Convention on the Future of Europe to assist former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the drafting of the new European Constitution. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.[4]

Amato was a Member of the Senate representing the constituency of Grosseto in Tuscany from 2001 to 2006. In 2006, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Olive Tree list, and he was named Minister of the Interior in Romano Prodi's centre-left government.

Since 2010, he also leads advanced seminar classes at the Master in International Public Affairs of the LUISS School of Government.

Amato is married to Ms Diana Amato, a professor of Family Law at the University of Rome. They have two children, Elisa and Lorenzo, and five grandchildren, Giulia, Marco, Simone, Elena and Irene.

World Justice Project

Giuliano Amato serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.[5]

President of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies

In 2012 Giuliano Amato was appointed as President of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies.[6][7] As alumnus of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (attending the prestigious Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies), he guarded close contact with the university, previously heading Sant'Anna Alumni Association.

He was appointed as President of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies on 21 February 2012 by the Academic Senate of Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies and by a Decree of the Minister Francesco Profumo of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (Italy).[6][7] He resigned from his post at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies after being appointed to the Constitutional Court in September 2013.

References

  1. ↑ "Ex-premier Amato appointed to Constitutional Court". Ansa. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Giuliano Amato Italy's new Prime Minister". Cosmopolis. 6. May 2000. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Hawk B. Giuliano Amato, Antitrust and the Bounds of Power. Fordham International Law Journal [serial online]. 1998;21(4):1670-1675.
  4. ↑ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Honorary Chairs". The World Justice Project. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  6. 1 2 Giuliano Amato designato Presidente della Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna at SSSUP
  7. 1 2 Giuliano Amato nuovo presidente della Scuola Sant'Anna at Il Tirreno
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