Giovanni Spadolini

Giovanni Spadolini
President of the Senate of the Republic
In office
2 July 1987 – 14 April 1994
Preceded byGiovanni Malagodi
Succeeded byCarlo Scognamiglio
Prime Minister of Italy
In office
28 June 1981 – 1 December 1982
PresidentSandro Pertini
Preceded byArnaldo Forlani
Succeeded byAmintore Fanfani
Acting President of Italy
In office
28 April 1992 – 28 May 1992
Prime MinisterGiulio Andreotti
Preceded byFrancesco Cossiga
Succeeded byOscar Luigi Scalfaro
Ministerial offices
Minister of Defence
In office
4 August 1983 – 18 April 1987
Prime MinisterBettino Craxi
Preceded byLelio Lagorio
Succeeded byRemo Gaspari
Minister of Public Education
In office
21 March 1979 – 5 August 1979
Prime MinisterGiulio Andreotti
Preceded byMario Pedini
Succeeded bySalvatore Valitutti
Minister for Cultural Heritage and the Environment
In office
21 December 1974 – 12 February 1976
Prime MinisterAldo Moro
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byMario Pedini
Parliamentary offices
Member of the Senate of the Republic
Life tenure
2 May 1991 – 4 August 1994
Nominated byFrancesco Cossiga
In office
25 May 1972 – 1 May 1991
ConstituencyMilan
Personal details
Born(1925-06-21)21 June 1925
Florence, Kingdom of Italy
Died4 August 1994(1994-08-04) (aged 69)
Rome, Italy
Political partyItalian Republican Party
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Alma materUniversity of Florence
ProfessionTeacher, journalist, historian

Giovanni Spadolini (21 June 1925 – 4 August 1994) was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as the 44th prime minister of Italy. He had been a leading figure in the Republican Party and the first head of a government to not be a member of Christian Democrats since 1945. He was also a newspaper editor, journalist and historian. He is considered a highly respected intellectual for his literary works and his cultural dimension.

Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Florence, he was the author of numerous historical works. He was also a journalist and editor-in-chief of the Bolognese newspaper Il Resto del Carlino, then of the Milanese newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.

Spadolini was the first Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Environment from 1974 to 1976. He became Prime Minister in 1981 and he led two successive cabinets which were supported by a coalition of parties in Parliament but this only lasted a few months. He was Minister of Defence in the governments headed by Socialist leader Bettino Craxi from 1983 to 1987 before being elected President of the Senate. In 1991, Spadolini was appointed Lifetime Senator by President Francesco Cossiga.