List of presidents of Italy
Part of the Politics series |
Politics portal |
Below is a list of the Presidents of the Italian Republic with the title Presidente della Repubblica since 1948. The Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as the Quirinale) in Rome is the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. The 12 Presidents came from only six of the 20 Regions: three each from Campania (all born in Naples) and Piedmont, two each from Sardinia (both born in Sassari) and Tuscany and one each from Liguria and Sicily.
Election
The President of the Republic is elected by Parliament in a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. In addition, the 20 regions of Italy appoint 58 representatives as special electors. Three representatives come from each region, save for the small Aosta Valley which appoints one, so as to guarantee representation for all localities and minorities.
According to the Constitution, the election must be held in the form of secret ballot, with the 315 senators, the 630 deputies and the 58 regional representatives all voting. A two-thirds vote is required to elect on any of the first three rounds of balloting and after that a majority suffices. The election is presided over by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who calls for the public counting of the votes. The vote is held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, which is expanded and re-configured for the event.
The President assumes office after having taken an oath before Parliament and delivering a presidential address. Presidents are elected to serve a seven-year term. Giorgio Napolitano is the only President to be elected to a second term.
Presidents of the Italian Republic (1946–present)
Substitution of the head of state
On various occasions, officials had to intercede in the absence of a head of state (notably in the case of a President's resignation or ill health). Only Enrico De Nicola, who was elected to be provisional head of state by the Constitutional Assembly on 28 June 1946, had an official title and took residence in the Quirinal Palace. The others took the powers, but not the title of Head of State. After the adoption of the Italian Constitution in 1948, the President of the Senate is eligible to take the powers of head of state in case of absence of the President of the Republic. The following persons served as substitute head of state:
- Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954) exercised the powers of provisional head of state as Prime Minister of Italy between the departure of King Umberto II on 12 June 1946 and the proclamation of Enrico De Nicola as head of state by the Constitutional Assembly on 28 June 1946.
- Enrico De Nicola (1877–1959) was the only man who had the title and not only the powers of provisional head of state. He assumed the office on 28 June 1946 and officially became the President of the Republic on 1 January 1948 as ordered by the new Constitution.
- Cesare Merzagora (1898–1991), as President of the Senate, assumed temporary powers for President Segni after his cerebral ictus of 10 August 1964 and assumed full powers after his resignation of 6 December and until 29 December 1964.
- Amintore Fanfani (1908–1999), as President of the Senate, assumed powers from President Leone after his resignation for a bribery scandal on 15 June 1978. He exercised the powers until 9 July 1978.
- Francesco Cossiga (1928–2010), as President of the Senate, assumed powers from President Pertini on 29 June 1985, just four days before taking office as President.
- Giovanni Spadolini (1925–1994), as President of the Senate, assumed powers from President Cossiga on 28 April 1992. He exercised the powers until 28 May 1992.
- Nicola Mancino (born 1931), as President of the Senate, assumed powers from President Scalfaro on 15 May 1999. He exercised the powers until 18 May 1999.
- Pietro Grasso (born 1945), as President of the Senate, assumed powers from President Napolitano on 14 January 2015. He exercised the powers until 3 February 2015.
Timeline
Living former Presidents of Italy
There is one living former Italian President:
-
Giorgio Napolitano
(age 99)
2006–2015
See also
- Lists of incumbents
- List of Italian Monarchs, for previous Italian heads of state between 1861 and 1946
- List of Italian Presidents by longevity
- List of Presidents of Italy by time in office
- List of Prime Ministers of Italy
- Politics of Italy
- Prime Minister of Italy
References
- ^ He had been a member of the Action Party, but the party ended its existence in 1947.
- ^ He had been a member of the Christian Democracy, of the Italian People's Party, of the Daisy and of the Democratic Party, but he quit political commitment when becoming a judge in 2009.
External links
- Template:It icon Presidenza della Repubblica – official site of the President of Italian Republic