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Antonio Maccanico
Antonio Maccanico daticamera 1996.jpg
Minister for Institutional Reforms
In office
21 June 1999 – 11 June 2001
Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema
Giuliano Amato
Preceded by Giuliano Amato
Succeeded by Umberto Bossi
Minister of Post and Communications
In office
17 May 1996 – 21 October 1998
Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Preceded by Giovanni Motzo
Succeeded by Salvatore Cardinale
Minister of Regional Affairs
In office
13 April 1988 – 13 April 1991
Prime Minister Ciriaco De Mita
Giulio Andreotti
Preceded by Aristide Gunnella
Succeeded by Francesco D'Onofrio
Member of the Senate of the Republic
In office
23 April 1992 – 14 April 1994
In office
28 April 2006 – 28 April 2008
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
9 May 1996 – 27 April 2006
Personal details
Born (1924-08-04)4 August 1924
Avellino, Italy
Died 23 April 2013(2013-04-23) (aged 88)
Rome, Italy
Political party
Alma mater Pisa University

Antonio Maccanico (born 4 August 1924 – died 23 April 2013) was an important Italian politician and expert in law. He held many different jobs in the Italian government. He was the main secretary for the Italian President at the Quirinal Palace for many years. He also served as a minister several times.

Early Life and Education

Antonio Maccanico was born in Avellino, Italy, on 4 August 1924. He went to the University of Pisa and finished his law degree in 1946.

Political Career

Maccanico started his career in June 1947 at the Chamber of Deputies. This is one of the two houses of the Italian Parliament. He worked in different groups within the Parliament.

He was first a member of the Action Party. Later, he joined the Italian Communist Party. However, he left this party in 1956 after the Soviet invasion of Hungary. This event caused many people to leave the Communist Party.

In 1962, Maccanico became the head of the law office for the Ministry of the Budget. He then returned to the Chamber of Deputies. In 1972, he became the Deputy General Secretary. Then, in 1976, he became the General Secretary of the Chamber of Deputies. This was a very important role. He also represented Italy in a group that helped prepare for direct elections to the European Parliament.

Working with Presidents

During the 1970s and 1980s, Maccanico worked for nine years as the main secretary for two Italian presidents: Sandro Pertini and Francesco Cossiga. This meant he helped them with their daily work and important decisions.

Banking and Ministerial Roles

From 1987 to 1988, Maccanico was the president of Mediobanca, a big Italian investment bank.

On 13 April 1988, he became the Minister for Regional Affairs and Institutional Problems. He held this job until 1991. In this role, he worked on issues related to different regions of Italy.

In 1992, he was elected as a member of the Senate of the Republic. This is the other house of the Italian Parliament. He served as a Senator until 1994.

Attempt to Form a Government

In 1996, the Prime Minister resigned. Antonio Maccanico was asked to try and form a new government. He believed that all political parties should agree on important changes before a new government was made. However, he could not get enough support from the different parties. Because of this, he gave up trying to form a government on 14 February 1996.

Minister of Communications

After this, Maccanico was elected as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies in April 1996. On 18 May 1996, he became the Minister of Post and Communications. In this role, he helped create a very important law. This law, called Law no. 249 of 1997, set up Italy's communications authority. It is often called the Maccanico Law. He served as minister until 1998.

In 1999, he became the Minister for Institutional Reforms. He continued in this role until 2001.

Later Political Life

In 2001, Maccanico was again elected to the Chamber of Deputies. He also helped bring together different political groups to form a new party called The Daisy.

In 2006, he was elected to the Italian Parliament for the fourth time. During this time, he worked on a rule called the Lodo Maccanico. This rule aimed to pause ongoing trials for the five highest officials in the state. However, the rule was changed by other politicians and became known as the Lodo Schifani.

In 2007, Maccanico talked about how Italy's political system had changed. He thought that the new system, which allowed for different governments to take turns ruling, brought more stability. He did not run for re-election in 2008.

Death and Legacy

Antonio Maccanico passed away in Rome on 23 April 2013, at the age of 88. In 2014, his diaries were published. They were called Con Pertini al Quirinale. Diari 1978–1985 and shared his experiences working with President Pertini.

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