Luigi Berlinguer

Luigi Berlinguer (25 July 1932 – 1 November 2023) was an Italian jurist and politician. He was a professor at the University of Siena, and also served as the minister of university and research and the minister of education.

Early life and education
Berlinguer was born in Sassari, Sardinia, on 25 July 1932. His brother, Sergio Berlinguer, was a diplomat and politician. They were cousins of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) leader Enrico Berlinguer, who died in 1984. He obtained a law degree from the University of Sassari in 1955.

Career
Berlinguer served as mayor of Sennori. He was the rector of the University of Siena from 1985 to 1993, when he was appointed to the Ciampi Cabinet as minister of universities, science, and technology. He was one of the three former PCI members in the cabinet. He served as the minister of education between 1996 and 2000 in the cabinets led first by Romano Prodi and then by Massimo D'Alema. He was also acting minister of universities, science, and technology from 1996 to October 1998. He was succeeded by Ortensio Zecchino as minister. In addition, he served in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic.

As a member of the Democratic Party, Berlinguer was elected as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009, sitting as part of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. In the European Parliament, he served as first vice-chair of the committee on legal affairs and as a member of the committee on culture and education beginning in 2009.

Death
Berlinguer died on 1 November 2023, at the age of 91.

Electoral history
Source:

Awards and honours
In 2011, Berlinguer received by the European Parliament the MEP award in the field of culture and education.


 * Cordone di gran Croce OMRI BAR.svg Knight Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, 27 December 1992.