Susanna Agnelli

Susanna Agnelli OMRI
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 17 January 1995 – 17 May 1996
Prime Minister	Lamberto Dini
Preceded by	Antonio Martino
Succeeded by	Lamberto Dini
Personal details
Born	(1922-04-24)24 April 1922 Turin, Italy
Died	15 May 2009(2009-05-15) (aged 87) Rome, Italy
Political party	Italian Republican Party
Spouse(s)	Count Urbano Rattazzi, Jr. (1945–1975)
Children	6 children

Susanna Agnelli, Contessa Rattazzi, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (24 April 1922 – 15 May 2009) was an Italian politician, businesswoman and writer. She was the first woman to be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in Italy.

Early life

Born in Turin, she was the daughter of Edoardo Agnelli and Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte, a daughter of the Prince di San Faustino and his Kentucky-born wife Jane Campbell. Her brother, Gianni Agnelli, was the head of Fiat until 1996; members of the Agnelli family are still the controlling shareholders of the company.

Politics

In 1974, Agnelli gained her first public appointment, when she became mayor of Monte Argentario. Her grandfather and great-grandfather had been mayors in their time. Agnelli served as mayor for a decade, from 1974-1984. The experience inspired her to enter national politics.

Agnelli was elected to the Italian Parliament in 1976 for the Italian Republican Party (PRI). In 1979, still for the PRI, she became an MEP in the European Parliament, from 1979-1981. In 1983, she returned to the Italian Parliament, becoming a senator.

The culmination of her political career was her appointment as Italy's first female Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 1995. She served for more than a year which, in the fragile politics of postwar Italy, makes her one of the most long-lasting holders of the office. It was not until 2013 that Emma Bonino became the next female incumbent of the post.

Family

In 1945 she married Count Urbano Rattazzi (1918-2012) with whom she had six children, the youngest of whom is photographer Priscilla Rattazzi. The marriage was dissolved in 1975. She divided her time between New York City and Italy and she was long a loyal fan of Robert Denning, of Denning & Fourcade, who designed over 15 homes for her in Manhattan, South America and Italy.

Autobiography

Her autobiography Vestivamo alla marinara ("We always wore sailor suits", 1983) was a bestseller in Italy.

Works

• Vestivamo alla marinara (1975)
• Gente alla deriva (1980)
• Ricordati Gualeguaychu (1982)
• Addio, addio mio ultimo amore (1985)

Further reading

• Marco Ferrante, Casa Agnelli, Mondadori, 2007, ISBN 978-88-04-56673-1
• Giancarlo Galli, Gli Agnelli, il tramonto di una dinastia, Mondadori, Edizione 2003, ISBN 88-04-51768-9
• Alan Friedman, Agnelli and the network of italian power, Mandarin Paperback (Octopus Publishing Gr.), London, 1988, ISBN 0-7493-0093-0
• Angiolo Silvio Ori, Storia di una dinastia - Gli Agnelli e la Fiat, Editori Riuniti, Roma, 1996 ISBN 88-359-4059-1
• Marina Ripa di Meana e Gabriella Mecucci, Virginia Agnelli, Argelato (BO), Minerva Edizioni, 2010, ISBN 978-88-7381-307-1
• Gigi Moncalvo, Agnelli segreti, Vallecchi, 2012, ISBN 978-88-8427-236-2