Enrico Mattei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman of Eni | |
| In office 10 February 1953 – 27 October 1962 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Marcello Boldrini |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 8 May 1948 – 24 June 1953 | |
| Constituency | Milan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 April 1906 Acqualagna, Italy |
| Died | 27 October 1962 (aged 56) Bascapè, Italy |
| Cause of death | Aircrash, Bomb |
| Political party | Christian Democracy |
| Occupation | Public administrator |
| Known for | Development of oil industry in Italy |
Enrico Mattei (Italian pronunciation: [enˈriːko matˈtɛi]; 29 April 1906 – 27 October 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II, he was given the task of dismantling the Italian petroleum agency Agip, a state enterprise established by Fascist Italy. Instead, Mattei enlarged and reorganized it into the National Fuel Trust (Italian: Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, ENI). Under his direction, ENI negotiated important oil concessions in the Middle East as well as a significant trade agreement with the Soviet Union, which helped break the oligopoly of the "Seven Sisters" that dominated the mid-20th-century oil industry. He also introduced the principle whereby the country that owned exploited oil reserves received 75% of the profits.[1]
Mattei, who became a powerful figure in Italy, was a member of Christian Democracy and of the Italian Parliament from 1948 to 1953. Mattei made ENI a powerful company, so much so that Italians called it "the state within the state".[2] He died in a plane crash in 1962, likely caused by a bomb in the plane, although it has never been established which group might have been responsible for his death.[3] The unsolved death of Mattei was the subject of an award-winning film The Mattei Affair by Francesco Rosi in 1972, with Mattei portrayed by Gian Maria Volonté. Along with Vittorio Valletta of Fiat S.p.A., he is regarded among the best Italian managers of the 20th century.[4]
- ^ "Italy: Powerful Man". Time. 2 November 1962.
- ^ "Oil: State Within a State". Time. 21 July 1961.
- ^ "Autopsy may solve deadly mystery of the Mattei Affair". The Independent. 29 August 1997.
- ^ Pace, Lanfranco (16 November 2016). "L'operaio di successo". Il Foglio (in Italian). Retrieved 11 February 2023.