Giovanni Gronchi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Giovanni Gronchi OMCA
Official portrait, c. 1955
President of Italy
In office 11 May 1955 – 11 May 1962
Prime Minister	Mario Scelba Antonio Segni Adone Zoli Amintore Fanfani Fernando Tambroni
Preceded by	Luigi Einaudi
Succeeded by	Antonio Segni
President of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 8 May 1948 – 29 April 1955
Preceded by	Umberto Terracini
Succeeded by	Giovanni Leone
Minister of Industry and Trade
In office 18 June 1944 – 1 July 1946
Prime Minister	Ivanoe Bonomi Ferruccio Parri Alcide de Gasperi
Preceded by	Attilio Di Napoli
Succeeded by	Rodolfo Morandi
Member of the Senate of the Republic
For life 11 May 1962 – 17 October 1978
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 8 May 1948 – 11 May 1955
Constituency	Pisa
In office 1 December 1919 – 21 January 1929
Constituency	Pisa
Member of the Constituent Assembly
In office 25 June 1946 – 31 January 1948
Constituency	Pisa
Personal details
Born	(1887-09-10)10 September 1887 Pontedera, Tuscany, Kingdom of Italy
Died	17 October 1978(1978-10-17) (aged 91) Rome, Lazio, Italy
Political party	Italian People's Party (1919–1926) Christian Democracy (1943–1978)
Spouses	Carla Bissatini ​ (m. 1941⁠–⁠1978)​ ; his death
Alma mater	Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
Profession	Teacher
Signature

Giovanni Gronchi (born September 10, 1887 – died October 17, 1978) was an important Italian politician. He was a member of the Christian Democracy party. He served as the President of Italy from 1955 to 1962. During his time as president, he tried to bring different political groups together. People sometimes saw him as the real power behind the Prime Ministers of Italy during his presidency.

Biography

Early Life and Political Beginnings

Giovanni Gronchi was born in Pontedera, a town in Tuscany, Italy. He was an early member of the Christian Movement, which was started by a Catholic priest in 1902. He studied literature and philosophy at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. From 1911 to 1915, he worked as a high school teacher. He taught classic subjects in several Italian cities.

Gronchi volunteered to serve in the First World War. After the war, in 1919, he helped start the Catholic Italian Popular Party. He was elected to represent Pisa in the Italian Parliament in both 1919 and 1921. He was also a leader in Christian trade unions, which are groups that protect workers' rights.

In 1922–1923, he worked in the first government led by Benito Mussolini. He was the Under-secretary for Industry and Commerce. However, in April 1923, his party decided to leave Mussolini's government. Gronchi then returned to his role in the Catholic trade unions. He worked to protect them from the violence caused by fascist groups.

In 1924, after Luigi Sturzo left his role, Gronchi became one of the leaders of the Popular Party. He was re-elected to Parliament that same year. He joined the anti-fascist opposition, known as the Aventine Secession. This group protested against the fascist government. In 1926, the new fascist government removed him from Parliament.

From 1925 to 1943, Gronchi stopped his political work. To avoid joining the Fascist Party, he also quit his job as a schoolteacher. He then became a successful businessman, working as a salesman and later as an industrialist.

After World War II

In 1943–1944, Giovanni Gronchi helped create the new Christian-Democratic party (DC). He became a leader of the party's left-wing group. He was also part of the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale. This was a group of different parties that resisted the fascist regime during World War II.

Gronchi often disagreed with the main leaders of his party. Still, he served as the Minister of Industry from 1944 to 1946. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1946. This assembly wrote Italy's new constitution. In 1947, as the Cold War began, he strongly disagreed with his party's decision. His party decided to remove the Italian Communist and Socialist parties from the government. From 1948 to 1955, he was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies. This is the lower house of the Italian Parliament.

President of Italy (1955–1962)

Official portrait of Giovanni Gronchi, circa 1955

In 1955, Luigi Einaudi's time as the first President of the Italian Republic ended. The Parliament needed to choose a new president. The leader of Gronchi's party, Amintore Fanfani, wanted Cesare Merzagora for the job. However, many members of Gronchi's party, from both the far-right and the trade-unionist left, wanted Giovanni Gronchi to be president. They saw him as "Parliament's man."

The Communist and Socialist parties also supported Gronchi. Even some monarchist and neo-fascist groups supported him. After a difficult election, Giovanni Gronchi was elected President on April 29, 1955. He received 658 votes out of 883. He was the first Catholic politician to become the Head of the Italian State.

His time as president lasted until 1962. He aimed to create a gradual "opening to the left." This meant bringing the Socialist and Communist parties back into the national government. He also hoped Italy would leave NATO and become a non-aligned country. However, there was strong opposition in Parliament to this idea.

To try and break the political stalemate, Gronchi appointed Fernando Tambroni as Prime Minister in 1959. Tambroni was a trusted member of Gronchi's own left-wing Catholic group. However, Tambroni's government only survived in Parliament because of votes from neo-fascist parties. This unexpected "opening to the right" caused serious problems.

In 1960, there were large protests and riots in several Italian cities. The police fired on demonstrators in places like Genoa and Reggio Emilia, killing five people. The Tambroni government had to resign. It was replaced by a government made up only of Christian Democrats. This new government had a more traditional centrist majority in Parliament.

The failure of the Tambroni government damaged Gronchi's reputation. For the rest of his presidency, he had less influence. In 1962, he tried to be elected for a second term. However, his attempt failed, and Antonio Segni was elected instead. When he finished his term as President, he became a life senator. This is a special position given to former presidents by the Italian Constitution. Giovanni Gronchi passed away in Rome on October 17, 1978, at the age of 91.

Personal Life

In 1941, Giovanni Gronchi married Carla Bissatini. They had one son and one daughter.

In the 1973 film The Assassination of Matteotti, Giovanni Gronchi was played by actor Giorgio Favretto.

Electoral History

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1919	Chamber of Deputies	Pisa		PPI	N/A	Y Elected
1921	Chamber of Deputies	Pisa		PPI	N/A	Y Elected
1924	Chamber of Deputies	Pisa		PPI	N/A	Y Elected
1946	Constituent Assembly	Pisa–Livorno–Lucca–Massa Carrara		DC	47,424	Y Elected
1948	Chamber of Deputies	Pisa–Livorno–Lucca–Massa Carrara		DC	68,808	Y Elected
1953	Chamber of Deputies	Pisa–Livorno–Lucca–Massa Carrara		DC	62,099	Y Elected

Presidential Elections

See also

• Gronchi Rosa