Franco Marini (9 April 1933 – 9 February 2021)[1] was an Italian politician and a prominent member of the centre-left Democratic Party. From 2006 to 2008, he was the president of the Senate.
A candidate in the 1992 Italian general election for Christian Democracy, he was to emerge as the most voted candidate in the country for the leading Italian party at the time. In 1997 Marini was appointed leader of the Italian People's Party, heir of the disbanded Christian Democracy, but he left the position in 1999 because of the party's poor electoral performance in the 1999 European election. After the Italian People's Party became part of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy, he became the organizational secretary for the newly founded party.
On 30 January 2008, President Giorgio Napolitano summoned Marini to the Quirinale after having met with the different political parties following the vote of no confidence received by the Prodi II Cabinet and the 2008 Italian political crisis it caused. He asked Marini to attempt to form an interim government, which would work to reform electoral laws prior to a new election.[3] Marini decided that his task was impossible on 4 February, after meeting with right-wing leaders Silvio Berlusconi and Gianfranco Fini, because he "could not find a significant majority on a precise electoral reform". Napolitano therefore dissolved Parliament and an early election was called for April 2008.[4] Marini was re-elected to the Senate in that election.[2]
On 17 April 2013, the Democratic Party (center-left), the People of Freedom (center right) and Civic Choice (center) designated Franco Marini as candidate for the presidential election. He failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority in the first round of voting.
