Luigi Berlinguer, the Minister of Education who signed Prodi’s reform, has passed away
Luigi Berlinguer: of Sardinian Origin and the Cousin of the Secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), Enrico Berlinguer, Luigi Berlinguer Lived in Siena, where he was a university professor and rector. He served as a parliamentarian, a member of the European Parliament, and a minister.
Former Minister of Education, ex-deputy, and ex-member of the European Parliament, Luigi Berlinguer, has passed away at the age of 91. He was of Sardinian origin and lived in Siena, where he had taught and had also been the rector of the University. As the cousin of Enrico Berlinguer, the beloved Secretary of the Italian Communist Party, during the first Prodi government, he put his signature on an education and school reform that sparked discussions. The wake is scheduled for Thursday, November 2nd, in the main hall of the University of Siena.
Luigi Berlinguer was elected as a deputy with the PCI from 1963 to 1968. In 1993, he accepted the appointment as the Minister of University and Scientific Research offered by the Prime Minister, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, but resigned from the position immediately. In 1994, he ran for the Chamber of Deputies as the progressive top candidate in the Tuscany district and was elected.
He ran for re-election in 1996 and was elected in the Florence district.
From 1996 to 1998, in the first Prodi government, he took over the Ministry of Public Education and, on an interim basis, the Ministry of University and Scientific and Technological Research, and continued in subsequent governments until 2000 as the Minister of Public Education. In April 2009, at the age of 77, he accepted the candidacy for the European Parliament as the top candidate for the Northeast constituency of the Democratic Party (PD) and served until 2014.
I have just learned with great sorrow of Luigi Berlinguer’s passing.
He was a passionate Minister of Education, always open to dialogue, and left an important legacy. My deepest condolences to his loved ones,” writes the Minister of Education, Giuseppe Valditara. On behalf of the PD, Berlinguer’s party, Secretary Elly Schlein speaks: “I express, on behalf of the entire democratic community, the deepest condolences for the passing of Luigi Berlinguer. He leaves us with a passionate and dedicated personality, but above all, Luigi Berlinguer leaves us the legacy of caring for and defending the priceless heritage of our political culture. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.
