Giovanni Leone (3 November 1908-9 November 2001) was Prime Minister of Italy from 22 June to 5 December 1963 (succeeding Amintore Fanfani and preceding Aldo Moro) and from 25 June to 13 December 1968 (succeeding Moro and preceding Mariano Rumor) and President of Italy from 29 December 1971 to 15 June 1978 (succeeding Giuseppe Saragat and preceding Sandro Pertini).
Biography[]
Giovanni Leone was born in Naples, Campania in 1908, and he was affiliated with Catholic Action before becoming a professor and jurist. He served as a magistrate of the military court of Naples during World War II, and he cofounded Christian Democracy in 1943. He became DC's provincial secretary for Naples in 1945 and served in the Constituent Assembly from 1946 to 1968, in the Chamber of Deputies from 1948 to 1967, and in the Senate from 1967 to 1971 and from 1978 to 2001. He served as Prime Minister in 1963 and 1968, resigning after the Vajont Dam disaster in 1963 and after adopting an unemployment benefits program in 1968. He went on to serve as President from 1971 to 1978, and he was forced to hold Italy's first snap elections due to political deadlock. After Aldo Moro was kidnapped in 1978, Leone supported negotiating with the Red Brigades, while Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti opposed talks; Moro was ultimately murdered. Leone's political career came to an end due to the Lockheed bribery scandals of 1978, and he served as a senator for life until his death.