Enrico Berlinguer

Born May 25, 1922, in Sassari, Sardinia. Active in the Italian communist movement.

Berlinguer received his education in jurisprudence. He became active in the antifascist movement in 1937 and has been a member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) since 1943. He was secretary of the Communist Youth provincial organization in Sassari. After the liberation of Italy in 1945 from the German fascist invaders (who occupied the country in 1943), Berlinguer was elected a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Youth League. He has been a candidate member of the PCI Central Committee since 1946 and a member of the PCI Central Committee and a candidate member of the PCI Leadership since 1948. He was secretary of the Italian Communist Youth Federation from 1950 to 1956, president of the World Federation of Democratic Youth from 1950 to 1953, and a member of the PCI leadership since 1960. From 1958 to 1960 and again from 1962 to 1966, Berlinguer was a member of the PCI Secretariat and then secretary of the PCI province committee in Lazio. He has been deputy secretary general of the PCI since February 1969, secretary general of the PCI since 1972, and deputy to the parliament since 1968.