Michele De Pietro

{{Infobox Minister

| image = Michele De Pietro.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption =

| office = Minister of Justice

| primeminister = Amintore Fanfani

| predecessor =

| successor = Himself

| term_start = 18 January 1954

| term_end = February 1954

| primeminister2 = Mario Scelba

| predecessor2 = Himself

| successor2 =

| term_start2 = 10 February 1954

| term_end2 = 6 July 1955

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1884|2|26}}

| birth_place = Cursi, Lecce, Kingdom of Italy

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1967|10|7|1884|2|26}}

| death_place = Lecce, Italy

| restingplace =

| party = {{ubl|Italian Liberal Party (1920–1946)|Christian Democracy}}

| alma_mater = La Sapienza University

| spouse = Clementina Fumarola

| nationality = Italian

| parents = {{ubl|Pasquale Domenico De Pietro | Addolorata Lunch}}

| children = }}

Michele De Pietro (1884–1967) was an Italian lawyer and politician. He was the vice president of the Italian Senate for two terms and the minister of justice in the period 1954–1956.

Early life and education

De Pietro was born in Cursi, Lecce, on 26 February 1884.{{cite encyclopedia|author=Giuseppe Sircana|title=De Pietro, Michele|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/michele-de-pietro_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |encyclopedia=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani|volume=39|language=it|year=1991}} His parents were Pasquale Domenico De Pietro, a lawyer, and Addolorata Lunch.{{cite web|title=Michele De Pietro |url=http://www.villadepietro.it/senatore-michele-de-pietro/|publisher=Villa de Pietro|access-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220129/http://www.villadepietro.it/senatore-michele-de-pietro/|archive-date=29 January 2022|url-status=live|language=it}}{{cbignore}}

He received a degree in law from La Sapienza University in Rome in 1906.

Career and activities

Following his graduation De Pietro worked as a lawyer until 1915.{{cite web|title=De Pietro, Michele

|publisher=Italian Senate|access-date=29 January 2022|language=it|url=http://senato.archivioluce.it/senato-luce/scheda/senatore/antroponimi/0034427/16/De-Pietro-Michele.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220129/http://senato.archivioluce.it/senato-luce/scheda/senatore/antroponimi/0034427/16/De-Pietro-Michele.html|archive-date=29 January 2022|url-status=live}}{{cbignore}} He took part in World War I as an infantry captain. He joined the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) in 1920.

In 1942 De Pietro was arrested because of his anti-Fascist activities. In 1945 he was appointed member of the National Council. He left the PLI in 1946 and later joined the Christian Democrats (DC). In the elections on 18 April 1948 he was elected to the Italian Senate from the DC representing Lecce. In the 1953 elections he was again elected to the Senate and became vice president of the Senate which he held until 18 January 1954 when he was appointed minister of grace and justice to the first cabinet led by Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani. Although the cabinet's term ended soon, De Pietro continued to serve in the post in the subsequent cabinet led by Mario Scelba from 10 February 1954 to 6 July 1955.

On 4 July 1957 De Pietro was again elected vice president of the Senate. Following the end of his tenure in 1958 he became president of the order of lawyers and prosecutors at the Court of Appeal and the Court of Lecce. Between 1958 and 1967 he was also president of the National Center for Prevention and Social Defense, succeeding Alessandro Casati and Enrico De Nicola in this position.