Marco Pannella facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marco Pannella
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| President of the Transnational Radical Party | |
| In office 1 January 1989 – 19 May 2016 |
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| Succeeded by | vacant |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 17 July 1979 – 14 July 2009 |
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| Constituency | North-West Italy (1979–1989; 1994–2009) Southern Italy (1989–1994) |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 5 July 1976 – 14 April 1994 |
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| Constituency | Turin (1976–1979; 1992–1994) Naples (1979–1983) Milan (1983–1987) Palermo (1987–1992) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Giacinto Pannella
2 May 1930 Teramo, Italy |
| Died | 19 May 2016 (aged 86) Rome, Italy |
| Political party | PLI (1945–1955) Radical Party (1955–1989) Pannella List (1992–1999) Bonino List (1999–2004) Italian Radicals (2001–2016) |
| Domestic partners | Mirella Parachini (1974–2016; his death) |
| Alma mater | University of Urbino |
| Profession | Journalist |
| Signature |  |
Marco Pannella (born Giacinto Pannella on May 2, 1930, and died on May 19, 2016) was an Italian politician, writer, and activist. An activist is someone who works hard to make big changes in society. Pannella was famous in Italy for his peaceful protests and his work for civil rights. Civil rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person.
He fought for important changes, such as the right for people to get divorced and stopping the use of nuclear power. Around the world, he supported human rights (basic rights for all people) and the right for groups of people to govern themselves. For example, he helped the Tibet and campaigned against the unfair treatment of Christians in Vietnam.
Pannella was a key leader of the Radical Party. This was the first major political group of Italian Radicals formed after World War II, starting in 1955. From 1979 to 2009, he served in the European Parliament. This is like a big group of lawmakers for many European countries. There, he worked on important committees dealing with laws and money. He was also the President of the Nonviolent Radical Party, a group that believed in making changes without violence.
People often described his political ideas as left-libertarian (believing in personal freedom and social equality) and liberal socialist (wanting both individual liberty and social justice).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Marco Pannella was born in Teramo, a town in the Abruzzo region of Italy, on May 2, 1930. His father was Italian, and his mother was Swiss. He went to a high school called the Julius Caesar Classical Lyceum in Rome. In 1955, he finished his studies and got a degree in law from the University of Urbino.
Political Career: A Life of Activism
Early Political Steps
Marco Pannella started his political journey early. When he was 20, he represented the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) at universities. He was also part of a student group called Unione Goliardica Italiana (UGI). By age 23, he was the president of the Unione Nazionale degli Studenti. This was the National Union of Students in Italy.
At 24, he helped start the Radical Party. This party became very important in his life. From 1960 to 1963, he worked in Paris as a writer for the Italian newspaper Il Giorno.
Fighting for Rights and Reforms
Throughout his long career, Pannella helped create many groups to fight for different causes. These included:
- A league to support the right to divorce.
- A league for "objection of conscience." This means supporting people's right to refuse to do something if it goes against their strong moral beliefs.
- A league to change the official agreement between the Catholic Church and the Italian government.
- A legal center named after Piero Calamandrei, a famous lawyer.
- The Italian Association for Demographic Education (AIED). This group focused on population issues.
Pannella was a leader in pushing for important changes to laws. He often used "civil disobedience." This means peacefully breaking laws he thought were unfair to bring attention to his causes. Because of this, he was sometimes arrested. He also worked to give 18-year-olds in Italy the right to vote.
Championing Civil Rights Worldwide
Pannella didn't just work in Italy. He also defended civil rights in Eastern European countries. In 1968, he was arrested in Sofia, Bulgaria, for handing out flyers that criticized the Communist government there. He was also one of the first people to help start Green (environmental) political movements in Europe.
In Italy, he continued to fight for civil rights. He also spoke out against the government giving money to political parties and against dishonest practices in Italian politics. Starting in the 1970s, Pannella organized many referendums. A referendum is when all citizens vote on a specific question. These referendums covered social and political topics, especially about how the government and legal system should work fairly.
Work in the European Parliament
In 1979, Marco Pannella was elected to the European Parliament. He joined a group called the Technical Group of Independents. This was a group of lawmakers from different left-wing parties who weren't part of the main large political groups. He even served as one of the leaders of this group, alongside Neil Blaney from Ireland and Jens-Peter Bonde from Denmark. During the 1980s, he also led international campaigns about rules for certain substances. He helped start groups like the Radical Antiprohibitionist Coordination (CORA) and the International Antiprohibitionist League.
Nonviolent Protests
Pannella strongly believed in nonviolence. This is a way of protesting inspired by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. He often went on hunger strikes, where he would refuse to eat, to draw attention to important issues. He did this in Italy and other places to defend civil rights and to fight against hunger around the world. For example, in 2007, he went on a hunger strike to protest against the death penalty. In April 2014, another hunger strike to protest poor conditions in Italian prisons led to him needing surgery.
Supporting a United Europe
Inspired by thinkers like Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi, Pannella was an early supporter of a united Europe. He used peaceful methods to campaign for the creation of the European Union.
Leadership in the Radical Party
Pannella was elected Secretary (a top leader) of the Radical Party in November 1981. He held this role until November 1983. In 1989, at a Radical Party meeting in Budapest, Hungary, he helped create the Transnational Radical Party. This was a new version of the party that aimed to work across different countries. He became the president of its Federal Council.
Later Work and International Recognition
In 2003, Pannella and other European leaders started the Medbridge Strategy Center. This organization works to encourage talking and understanding between Europe and the Middle-East.
He received honors from various groups. He was the honorary President of the Party of the Rom (ROI) in the Czech Republic. He was also an honorary member of the Socialist Slovene Youth. The Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet LeYisrael) honored him by planting a forest area in his name in the Negev Desert in Israel.
In October 2011, he joined the French Federalist Party. This allowed him to be part of the meeting that officially started the European Federalist Party in November 2011. This made him one of its founding members.
Personal Life and Legacy
Marco Pannella passed away on May 19, 2016, from cancer. He was 86 years old. After his death, many people remembered his work. The Prime Minister of Italy at the time, Matteo Renzi, called him a "lion of freedom" because of his brave fight for people's rights.
See also
In Spanish: Marco Pannella para niños
