Giorgio Ruffolo

Giorgio Ruffolo
Minister of Environment
In office
29 July 1987 – 28 June 1992
Prime Minister
Preceded byMario Pavan
Succeeded byCarlo Ripa di Meana
Member of the Senate
In office
1 July 1987 – 14 April 1994
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
12 July 1983 – 1 July 1987
Personal details
Born(1926-08-14)14 August 1926
Rome, Kingdom of Italy
Died16 February 2023(2023-02-16) (aged 96)
Rome, Italy
Political party
  • PSI (1944–1948; 1958–1994)
  • PDS (1994–1998)
  • DS (1998–2007)
  • PD (2007–2023)
Alma materSapienza University of Rome

Giorgio Ruffolo (14 August 1926 – 16 February 2023) was an Italian economist, journalist and politician who held several government posts and was the minister of environment for five years between 1987 and 1992 in four successive cabinets. He was a member of the now defunct Italian Socialist Party and a significant socialist intellectual.[1] He is known to be the founder of economic planning in Italy.[2]

Biography

Ruffolo was born on 14 August 1926 in Rome.[3] He was part of the Italian Socialist Youth Federation.[4] He headed the research and public relations department of Eni between 1956 and 1962.[5] He joined the Italian Socialist Party and was elected to the Italian Parliament in 1983.[5]

Ruffolo was the president and cofounder of the Europa Research Center (Centro Europa Ricerche), a Rome-based research institute in applied economic analysis with a special reference to the central issues for Italian and European economic policy.[6][7][8] The other founders of the institute included Antonio Pedone and Luigi Spaventa.[7] Ruffolo was also the president of a public investment company, Finanziaria Meridionale, which had been established to improve the economic development of Southern Italy.[2]

From 1987 to 1992, Ruffolo was the minister of environment.[9][10] Although he was an economist by profession, he published various publications on environment, which made him one of the most qualified environment ministers of Italy.[10] During his term, the ministry published the first report about the environmental conditions in the country.[10] Another significant event was the closure of the Farmoplant in Massa in July 1988 following a massive explosion which had caused environmental pollution in the Massa coastline.[11]

Ruffolo also served in the European Parliament for three terms: 17 July 1979–30 September 1983; 19 July 1994–19 July 1999 and 20 July 1999–19 July 2004.[3]

Ruffolo was a contributor to the Italian edition of Huffington Post and Italian newspaper La Repubblica.[9][12]

Ruffolo died in Rome on 16 February 2023, at the age of 96.[4][13]

References

  1. ^ Mattia Granata (2015). "The economic policies of Italian social democracy in the post-war period (1945–1962)". Modern Italy. 20 (2): 139. doi:10.1080/13532944.2015.1028347. S2CID 143234086.
  2. ^ a b Giovanna Zincone (September 1980). "The Leisure Vote: The Campaign for European Elections". Il Politico. 45 (3): 401. JSTOR 43208619.
  3. ^ a b "Giorgio Ruffolo". European Parliament. 14 August 1926. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "E' morto Giorgio Ruffolo, economista e storico esponente del Psi". La Repubblica (in Italian). 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b Patrick McCarthy (1997). The Crisis of the Italian State: From the Origins of the Cold War to the Fall of Berlusconi and Beyond. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-312-16359-4.
  6. ^ "Giorgio Ruffolo". Italiani europei. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b "About Us". Centro Europa Ricerche. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. ^ Carlo Cristiano (2017). "Centro Europa Ricerche from its foundation to the end of the First Republic". History of Economic Thought and Policy (2): 83–102. doi:10.3280/SPE2017-002005.
  9. ^ a b "Giorgio Ruffolo. Biography" (in Italian). Ediesse Online. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Albert Weale; et al. (June 1996). "Environmental administration in six European states: Secular convergence or national distinctiveness?". Public Administration. 74 (2): 268. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9299.1996.tb00869.x.
  11. ^ "Chronology of Italian political events, 1988". Italian Politics. 4: vii–xxiii. 1990. JSTOR 43039615.
  12. ^ "H Blog". HuffPost. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  13. ^ "È morto a 96 anni Giorgio Ruffolo, economista e storico esponente del Partito socialista italiano". Il Post (in Italian). 16 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.