Ex Italian political stalwart Gianni de Michelis dies aged 78
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Gianni de Michelis, a stalwart of the Italian Socialist Party and of the Italian political scene in the 80s and 90s, has died, aged 78. The news was given by Nereo Laroni, former Italian politician and former Venice mayor.
Gianni De Michelis was born on November 26, 1940 in Venice, Veneto, Italy as Giovanni De Michelis.
His political experience started with the Italian Socialist Party, where he was elected to the municipal council of Venice. He got elected for the first time to the Italian Parliament in 1976 and was elected again in 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992 and 2006. Years during which he developed a close relationship with disgraced Socialist Party Leader Bettino Craxi.
From 1989 to 1992 De Michelis was Italian Foreign Minister and signed, among other things, the Maastricht Treaty.
He had formally accepted Malta’s application to join the European Union from then Foreign Minister Guido de Marco in July 1990.
Between 1993 and 2001, during the judicial storm of Mani Pulite, De Michelis was accused of corruption along with many of the socialists MPs and regional administrators. Within more than 35 different trails, apart from the numerous favorable verdicts, he has been convicted of corruption and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months (negotiated) in Venice for highways bribes in Veneto and to 6 months for illegal financing.
In the last days De Michelis was recovered in a hospital in Venice, his place of birth after his health had turned for the worst.
