Full name:

Leonilde "Nilde" Iotti

Date and place of birth:

10 April 1920, Reggio Emilia, Kingdom of Italy

Date and place of death:

4 December 1999 (aged 79), Rome, Italy

Education:

• Being a hardworking student, she earned a scholarship to study literature and philosophy at the Catholic University of Milan after her father's death, and despite being a committed atheist, she pursued her studies there.
• In 1942, she graduated from the Catholic University of Milan.
• While at the university, one of her professors was Amintore Fanfani, who later became a Christian Democratic leader and Prime Minister.

Career:

• 1942: Iotti became a member of the National Fascist Party (PNF) within the Federation of Female Fascists of Reggio Emilia because being a member of the fascist party was a required qualification for becoming a teacher.
• During WW2: She was a resistance fighter.
• When the war was over: She became a prominent figure in the Communist Party (PCI) and a leading organiser of the PCI-dominated Union of Italian Women. During this period, she fought for women's rights.
• 1946: She was elected to the Constituent Assembly (a parliamentary chamber responsible for drafting a new Republican constitution), as she had obtained significant support from female voters, where she drafted the family policy section of the new Republican constitution.
• 1948: She joined the Chamber of Deputies, one of the two houses (along with the Senate) of the Italian Parliament, of which she was a member without interruption until 1999.
• 1956: She became a member of the Central Committee of the Party.
• 1962: She became a member of the National Direction.
• 1964: After the death of the PCI leader, Iotti modernized the party. She represented the pro-European face of the party and she promoted European integration. Iotti continued to fight for women's rights. She supported divorce and abortion laws, key issues for the women's movement, and encouraged respect for Catholic women's views on these topics.
• 1979: She became President of the Chamber of Deputies, a post she held until 1992. She was the first woman and first Communist to hold high institutional office in Italy.
• 1987: President Francesco Cossiga entrusted her with forming a government, making her the first communist and the first woman to receive such a mandate in Italy. However, she was unable to build a coalition.
• November 1999: She resigned from the Italian parliament. She died 2 weeks later.

Contribution to Europe:

• Promoting Universal Suffrage: Dedicated to a fair and equal Europe, Iotti aimed to advance universal suffrage on the European stage.
• Fighting for Direct Elections
  • She became a Member of the European Parliament in 1969. She served for 10 years, a decade in which she also served on the Parliament's Foreign Affairs committee. As an MEP, she championed direct elections to give the European Parliament an unshakable mandate and credibility to act on behalf of citizens.
  • In 1979, Iotti and her colleagues saw their efforts rewarded with the first direct elections to the European Parliament.
• Contribution to the Council of Europe: She was elected vice-president of the Council of Europe in 1997, the human rights organization consisting of 47 member states.

Vision for Europe:

• Nilde Iotti's vision for Europe was focused on fairness and equality. She aimed to introduce open elections to the European Parliament, allowing citizens to directly elect their representatives.
• Her vision of a united Europe included addressing geopolitical effects and believing Europeans should improve north-south relations, foster Middle East peace and development, and regulate the international system.

The Foundation of Nilde Iotti:

• Fondazione Nilde Iotti

Useful links:

• The official site of EU
• Her life - PDF document
• Wikipedia
• Nilde Iotti - biografia

Image References:

• Profile picture
• First Image
• Second Image
• Third Image