Domenico Fisichella

Domenico Fisichella (born 15 September 1935) is an Italian academic and politician, who served as culture minister in the first Berlusconi government from 1994 to 1995.

Career
Fisichella taught political science at Sapienza University of Rome and the Luiss Business School. He wrote for Rome daily Il Tempo.

He was a founding member of the right-wing National Alliance. He was the constitutional advisor of Gianfranco Fini, the leader of the party. He was appointed minister of culture to the first cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on 10 May 1994. Fisichella replaced Alberto Ronchey in the post. Fisichella's ministerial term ended in December 1994 when the cabinet resigned.

In 1994, Fisichella became a member of the Senate of the Republic and served there until 2008. He became an independent senator when he left the National Alliance in January 1996. He served as the deputy speaker of the Italian senate for ten years. After leaving politics, he continued to work at the University of Florence and Sapienza University of Rome, and as of 2012 he was also a lecturer at Luiss University of Rome.

Views
Fisichella was the ideologue of the National Alliance and a monarchist.

Controversy
Although Fisichella is a distinguished and leading political scientist in international academic circles, his appointment as culture minister caused serious concerns in the international press.

Works
Fisichella is the author of several books, including ''Istituzioni politiche. Struttura e pensiero (1999); Denaro e democrazia. Dall’antica Grecia all’economia globale (2000); Politica e mutamento sociale (2002) and Elezioni e democrazia. Un’analisi comparata'' (2003).