Gaetano Martino

Gaetano Martino
President of the European Parliament
In office 27 March 1962 – 21 March 1964
Preceded by	Hans Furler
Succeeded by	Jean Duvieusart
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 19 September 1954 – 6 May 1957
Prime Minister	Mario Scelba Antonio Segni
Preceded by	Attilio Piccioni
Succeeded by	Giuseppe Pella
Minister of Public Education
In office 10 February 1954 – 19 September 1954
Prime Minister	Mario Scelba
Preceded by	Egidio Tosato
Succeeded by	Giuseppe Ermini
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 8 May 1948 – 21 July 1967
Constituency	Catania
Member of the Constituent Assembly
In office 25 June 1946 – 31 January 1948
Constituency	Catania
Personal details
Born	(1900-11-25)25 November 1900 Messina, Kingdom of Italy
Died	21 July 1967(1967-07-21) (aged 66) Rome, Italy
Party	Liberal
Spouse	Alberta Stagno d'Alcontres
Children	3 sons, including Antonio
Education	Sapienza University of Rome
Profession	Physician, teacher

Gaetano Martino (25 November 1900 – 21 July 1967) was an Italian politician, physician, and university teacher.

Early life and medicine

Gaetano Martino was born in 1900 in Messina, Sicily, son of its Mayor Antonino Martino. He graduated in medicine from the Sapienza University of Rome in 1923. He worked as physician for Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris. In 1934, he became a teacher at the University of Messina and later was also dean of the university from 1943 to 1954. From 1966 to 1967, Martino was also dean of the Sapienza University of Rome.

Political career

Foreign minister

Gaetano Martino (mid), with Halvard Lange (r), and Lester B. Pearson (l), in 1956

Martino was a prominent Liberal politician. He was elected in 1948 to the Chamber of Deputies, becoming briefly Minister of Public Education in 1954 under Christian Democrat Mario Scelba. Later that year, Martino became Minister of Foreign Affairs after replacing Attilio Piccioni, who was involved in the Montesi Affair. Martino maintained this Ministry during Antonio Segni's Cabinet (1954–1957), but was finally removed from office by new Prime Minister Adone Zoli.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Martino promoted closer European integration and internationalism, first with the Messina Conference in 1955. In 1956, he facilitated Italian entry to the United Nations. In that same year Martino, along with Halvard Lange from Norway and Lester Pearson from Canada, became a "sage" of NATO, promoting its involvement in civil areas. Martino also attended the Treaty of Rome in 1957, which established the European Economic Community.

The "Armoire of Shame"

Main article: Armadio della vergogna

Gaetano Martino in 1954.

In 1956, the newspaper la Repubblica published an article in which Martino said that investigations on German war crimes in Italy during World War II would have a negative impact on West Germany's integration into Europe. In 1994, with the discovery at a military base of an armoire containing secret documents on Nazi war crimes in Italy, nicknamed the "Armoire of Shame" ("Armadio della Vergogna"), it emerged that Martino had blocked investigations into these crimes to avoid German isolation during the Cold War.

Later life

For his role in promoting European integration, Martino was elected President of the European Parliament in 1962. He also continued to serve as Deputy in the Italian Chamber until his death in July 1967.

Electoral history

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1946	Constituent Assembly	Catania–Messina–Ragusa–Enna		UDN	30,332	Y Elected
1948	Chamber of Deputies	Catania–Messina–Ragusa–Enna		BN	28,464	Y Elected
1953	Chamber of Deputies	Catania–Messina–Ragusa–Enna		PLI	40,671	Y Elected
1958	Chamber of Deputies	Catania–Messina–Ragusa–Enna		PLI	55,475	Y Elected
1963	Chamber of Deputies	Catania–Messina–Ragusa–Enna		PLI	61,627	Y Elected

External links

• Media related to Gaetano Martino at Wikimedia Commons