Alessandro Natta

Alessandro Natta (Imperia, 7 January 1918 - 23 May 2001), was an Italian politician and secretary of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from 1984 to 1988.

Related Topics:
Imperia - 7 January - 1918 - 23 May - 2001 - Italian - Italian Communist Party - 1984 - 1988

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Natta attended the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa together with the current President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, and in that city he began his participation in the anti-fascist struggle.

Related Topics:
Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa - Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

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During World War II he was sent to Greece and in the chaos following Italy's armistice with the Allies, took part in the defence of Gaddurà airport in Rhodes from German attacks. Captured, he refused to collaborate with the Germans and Italian fascists and was interned in a prison camp on the island.

Related Topics:
World War II - Greece - Rhodes - Interned

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Natta returned to Italy only in August 1945, and joined the Italian Communist Party in Imperia, dedicating himself to the party full-time. He was in turn a municipal councillor, secretary of the local party federation, and in time a leading participant in the party's internal life, becoming a member of its principal organs along with Luigi Longo.

Related Topics:
1945 - Imperia - Luigi Longo

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A strong supporter of the "Italian road to socialism", he was close to Enrico Berlinguer, and gained a position in the party secretariat. In 1969, he drew up the report proposing the expulsion from the party of the Manifesto group.

Related Topics:
Socialism - Enrico Berlinguer - 1969 - Manifesto

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In 1984, after Berlinguer's death, Natta was elected as party secretary. While still following Berlinguer's political line, he tried to improve the party's tense relations with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. To this end he supported a trip to the USSR organised by Armando Cossutta which generated considerable controversy inside the party.

Related Topics:
1984 - Communist Party of the Soviet Union - USSR - Armando Cossutta

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Natta was confirmed as leader during the Florence congress in 1986, but in 1988 he was forced to resign by a heart attack and was succeeded by Achille Occhetto.

Related Topics:
Florence - 1986 - 1988 - Achille Occhetto

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Natta, along with Cossutta, strongly opposed Occhetto's proposal in the historic "Bolognina split" to change the party's name . The dissolution of the PCI subsequent to Occhetto's victory led to the birth of two different parties, the majority Democratic Party of the Left under Occhetto and the hardline minority Communist Refoundation Party founded by Cossutta, Sergio Garavini, Lucio Libertini and others. Natta, like Pietro Ingrao, chose to remain a member of the main party, as he was not optimistic about the prospects of the new communist party.

Related Topics:
Democratic Party of the Left - Communist Refoundation Party - Sergio Garavini - Lucio Libertini - Pietro Ingrao

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