Giovanni Gronchi, was an Italian politician from Christian Democracy who served as the president of Italy from 1955 to 1962 and was marked by a controversial and failed attempt to bring about an "opening to the left" in Italian politics.
12 Facts About Giovanni Gronchi
2.
Giovanni Gronchi was reputed the real holder of the executive power in Italy from 1955 to 1962, behind the various Prime Ministers of this time.
3.
Giovanni Gronchi was born at Pontedera, Tuscany, and was an early member of the Christian Movement founded by the Catholic priest don Romolo Murri in 1902.
4.
Giovanni Gronchi obtained his first degree in literature and philosophy at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa.
5.
Giovanni Gronchi volunteered for military service in the First World War and when it was over he became in 1919 one of the founding members of the Catholic Italian Popular Party.
6.
Giovanni Gronchi was elected to represent Pisa in both the parliamentary elections of 1919 and 1921.
7.
Giovanni Gronchi then went back to his role in the leadership of the Catholic trade unions, and tried to face the daily violence brought against them by the fascist squads.
8.
In 1924, after Luigi Sturzo had resigned as Secretary of the PPI, Gronchi became leader of the party, together with two other "triumvirs",.
9.
Giovanni Gronchi was a member of the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, the multi-party committee of the Italian Resistance, as a representative of his party.
10.
Giovanni Gronchi was the first Catholic politician to become Head of the Italian State.
11.
Giovanni Gronchi died in Rome on 17 October 1978 at the age of 91.
12.
In 1941, Giovanni Gronchi married Carla Bissatini and had one son and one daughter.