Alcide De Gasperi was a Christian Democratic politician and one of the fathers of Italian democracy and the European Union
Alcide De Gasperi, né Degasperi, was born on the 3rd April 1881 in Pieve Tesino in the Valsugana. After graduating in philosophy at the University of Vienna, he worked as an editor. In 1911 Degasperi was elected to the Austrian Parliament and later also to the Tyrolean regional parliament in Innsbruck, where he took positions in defense of Italian culture in Welschtirol (Trentino). From 1917 he was particularly committed to supporting Italian refugees and prisoners and in 1918 he proclaimed the desire of all the Italian-speaking communities to unite with Italy. Having become an Italian citizen, he immediately joined the 'partito popolare' (the People's Party'), chairing their first congress in Bologna.
He soon came into conflict with Mussolini who sought to abolish Trentino's special autonomy in occasion of the electoral law of 1924. Following the dissolution of the Partito Popolare, De Gasperi was sentenced to six years of prison and subsequently hired at the Vatican Library. Member of the CLN (Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, National Liberation Committee), his moderate approach to politics quickly brought him to prominence and a stance he demonstrated when, as Prime Minister of Italy, he accepted the responsibility of signing the 1947 Peace Treaty. He had previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior.
Following the elections of April 1948, De Gasperi significantly raised Italy's international political profile, by joining the NATO and the OEEC, (later the OECD). He further deepened his commitment to European politics and gradually became held prominent positions in European institutions. In May 1954, he was elected president of the Common Assembly.
Alcide De Gasperi died in 1954 in Borgo Valsugana. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union along with Robert Schuman and Konrad Adenauer.
