Achille Occhetto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Achille Leone Occhetto
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| General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party |
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| In office 21 June 1988 – 3 January 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Alessandro Natta |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left |
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| In office 8 February 1991 – 14 June 1994 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Massimo D'Alema |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 5 July 1976 – 29 May 2001 |
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| Constituency | Piedmont |
| Member of the Senate of the Republic | |
| In office 30 May 2001 – 27 April 2006 |
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| Constituency | Calabria |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 March 1936 Turin, Italy |
| Political party | SI (since 2017) |
| Other political affiliations |
PCI (1953–1991) PDS (1991–1998) DS (1998–2007) SD (2007–2009) SEL (2009–2017) |
| Spouses |
Ines Ravelli
(separated 1968)Elisa Kadigia Bove
(divorced)Aureliana Alberici
(divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Achille Leone Occhetto (Italian pronunciation: [aˈkille okˈketto]; born 3 March 1936) is an Italian political figure. He served as the last secretary-general of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) between 1988 and 1991, and was the first leader of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), the parliamentary socialist successor of the PCI, from 1991 to 1994.
Early life and career
Occhetto was born in Turin. He served as secretary of the Italian Communist Youth Federation, to which he had belonged starting from 1953, from 1963 to 1966. Subsequently, he was the regional secretary of the PCI in Sicily, where he distinguished himself for his war against any kind of mafia.
In 1986, Occhetto was appointed as national coordinator of the PCI and became its secretary in 1988, succeeding Alessandro Natta. Under his leadership, the party witnessed the collapse of both the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union. He responded by declaring the Communist state experience over, and persuaded the PCI to dissolve and refound itself as a democratic socialist party, the PDS. This political shift, known in Italian politics as the Svolta della Bolognina (the name derives from the celebration of a partisan battle in World War II), during which he announced that the PCI would change its name, logo, and orientation, was accepted by approximately 70% of the members at the 20th National Congress held on 8 February 1991.
In 1994, Occhetto challenged and was defeated by Silvio Berlusconi in the 1994 Italian general election, leading the Alliance of Progressives; because of this loss, he resigned as party secretary. He returned to politics in the 2004 European Parliament election in Italy, being elected to the European Parliament on a joint ticket with anti-corruption campaigner Antonio Di Pietro; he immediately resigned and was replaced by Giulietto Chiesa. After the 2006 Italian general election, he returned to the European Parliament by taking up one of the seats vacated by an elected deputy, and sat as an Independent member of the Party of European Socialists group. In 2009, he joined the new left-wing formation Left Ecology Freedom. He is an atheist.
Personal life
Occhetto was married to the activist and former actress Elisa Kadigia Bove, with whom he had two sons, Malcolm and Massimiliano (both born in Sicily); he was later married to fellow party member Aureliana Alberici.
See also
In Spanish: Achille Occhetto para niños
