Mario Oriani-Ambrosini facts for kids

Mario Gaspare R. Oriani-Ambrosini (born 26 October 1960 – died 16 August 2014) was an Italian expert in a country's laws (a constitutional lawyer) and a politician. He served as a Member of Parliament in South Africa for the Inkatha Freedom Party.

Mario Oriani-Ambrosini's Early Life

Mario Oriani-Ambrosini was born in Rome, Italy, in 1960. His father, Raffaele Oriani, was a professor and international lawyer. Sadly, his father passed away when Mario was young.

Mario was then adopted and raised by his grand-uncle, Gaspare Ambrosini. Gaspare was an important Italian leader and judge who led the Italian Constitutional Court. Mario's education was also shaped by other grand-uncles. These included Vittorio Ambrosini, who helped start the Italian arditi, and Antonio Ambrosini, an expert in international law.

Even though his adoptive father was a leader of a major political party, Mario spent his teenage years involved in politics with Marco Pannella. Pannella led a non-violent, environmental, and freedom-focused movement in Italy. Mario stayed connected to this movement throughout his life.

Education and Legal Studies

Mario Oriani-Ambrosini studied at several universities. These included the Sapienza University of Rome, Harvard University, and Georgetown University Law Center. In Rome, he helped a former President of the Italian Constitutional Court with legal seminars.

He also did research for the Italian Parliament. This research focused on environmental laws in the US. It helped Italy understand how to create its own environmental rules. From age 17, he worked in his family's law firm, preparing legal documents.

After winning a special scholarship called a Fulbright scholarship, Mario moved to the United States. There, he focused on constitutional law and international business law. In 1986, he became a key assistant to Albert Blaustein. Blaustein was a law professor who helped write over 30 constitutions around the world.

Mario helped Blaustein with a class on writing constitutions. He also worked with Human Rights Advocates International. This group worked on human rights issues at the United Nations. He helped with legal advice and negotiations for many countries. These included Nicaragua, the Russian Federation, Canada, Uganda, and Fiji. He also advised groups like the Rehoboth Basters in Namibia on land claims.

Career as a Lawyer and Businessman

While Mario Oriani-Ambrosini was deeply involved in politics and constitutional law, he also worked as a commercial lawyer and businessman. In Washington, D.C., he joined a law firm that handled international business deals.

He became good friends with businessman Peter J. Knop. Mario became the main lawyer for Knop's companies. He helped manage businesses involved in investments, waste recycling, and farming. Together, they built a successful business that also worked on lobbying and government relations.

Political Journey in South Africa

In 1991, Mario Oriani-Ambrosini began an important relationship with Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. This changed his life. In 1990, he advised the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) at the start of CODESA. CODESA was a two-year negotiation process in South Africa. It helped the country move from apartheid (a system of racial segregation) to democracy.

In 1992, he sat with Buthelezi at a meeting of the UN Security Council. This meeting was called by Nelson Mandela to help South Africa's move to democracy. In November 1992, Mario wrote the Constitution for KwaZulu/Natal. This was a detailed plan for a state within a future South African federation. It helped promote civil liberties like gay rights and banning the death penalty.

Negotiating South Africa's Constitution

For three years, Mario worked full-time as the chief negotiator for the IFP. He was involved in every step of the negotiations. This included writing the 1994 interim Constitution. He played a key role in international efforts to bring peace. These efforts were led by Henry Kissinger and Lord Carrington. He also helped finalize the South African Constitution.

After South Africa's first democratic elections, Buthelezi became the Minister of Home Affairs. He was also the leader of a minority party in Mandela's Government of National Unity. Mario Oriani-Ambrosini was then appointed as Buthelezi's only Cabinet Adviser. He held this job for 10 years. He advised on all issues before the Cabinet and Parliament. This included writing the final national Constitution. He also helped create many new laws and policies. These laws changed almost all parts of government and society. He helped write laws about films, citizenship, and relationships.

Mario is known for being the main person behind South Africa's immigration reform from 1996 to 2004. He was appointed to a team that created the new immigration policy. He wrote both the policy and the new laws. He also guided the laws through Parliament. He then wrote the temporary immigration rules and helped with the final ones.

In the Department of Home Affairs, he advised the Minister on policy matters. He also helped manage the large department. He was involved in setting up the electronic population and fingerprint registry. This system helped create national ID cards. He also helped restructure the department. Mario promoted security cooperation with the US and Australia.

Work in Parliament

Mario Oriani-Ambrosini's work was not limited to Home Affairs. He advised the Province of KwaZulu Natal. This included writing the 1996 provincial Constitution. He also helped with several laws and court cases for the province. He helped lead the effort to provide life-saving medicines to prevent HIV-AIDS transmission. This was done despite President Thabo Mbeki's initial opposition.

He also advised traditional leaders. He was involved in all major activities of the IFP. He helped rewrite most of the Party's constitution. Mario traveled to many countries with the South African government. He attended high-level United Nations conferences.

Mario also managed over 45 major court cases. These cases were for the IFP, the KwaZulu Natal Government, and the Department of Home Affairs.

In May 2004, Mario left the South African Government. He reopened his office in Washington, D.C. He started a legal and business consulting firm. He also created Promethea Corporation. This company made safe kerosene cookers in Vietnam. They distributed them in Africa to replace unsafe versions. He continued to advise Buthelezi on policy matters. During this time, he wrote the IFP's proposed 2005 Constitution for KwaZulu Natal. He also wrote other policy documents.

He became a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa in May 2009. He served on several important committees. These included Trade and Industry, Public Enterprises, and Justice.

Mario brought a new way of thinking to the South African Parliament. He carried out the first filibuster in South African parliamentary history. A filibuster is when a person speaks for a long time to delay a vote. This delayed a controversial secrecy law for four months. He also challenged Parliament's rules in court. This led to a major decision by the Constitutional Court. The court said that rules preventing a single Member of Parliament from introducing laws were unconstitutional.

He also spoke out in other important court cases. These cases dealt with the Chief Justice's term and freedom of speech in Parliament. He also asked the President to send laws back to Parliament if they had constitutional problems. The President did this for a law about intellectual property.

Mario was one of the six people who started the Parliamentary Institute of South Africa (PISA). This group helps current and former politicians, business leaders, and academics talk to each other.

He was also part of INPaT, a group of politicians focused on Tibet. He visited Tibetan camps in India. He spoke strongly for human rights in Tibet. He often challenged the Chinese government to allow international groups to visit Tibet freely. He also led a successful lawsuit against the ANC. This lawsuit found that the South African government was wrong to repeatedly deny a visa to the Dalai Lama.

Mario Oriani-Ambrosini wrote a lot about money and business. He supported a system where the government provides free education, health, and social help. But he believed the government should not own or run the facilities that provide these services. He also suggested changing the money system.

At the time of his death, Mario was a citizen of the United States, Italy, and South Africa. He spoke both English and Italian fluently.

Death

Mario Oriani-Ambrosini passed away in 2014. This was a little over a year after he announced that he had Stage 4 lung cancer.

See also

• List of members of the National Assembly of South Africa who died in office