Ortensio Zecchino
Minister of University and Research
In office 21 October 1998 – 2 February 2001
Prime Minister	Massimo D'Alema Giuliano Amato
Preceded by	Luigi Berlinguer
Succeeded by	Fabio Mussi
Member of the Senate
In office 2 July 1987 – 29 May 2001
Personal details
Born	(1943-04-20) 20 April 1943 (age 80) Asmara, Eritrea
Nationality	Italian
Political party	DC (till 1994) PPI (1994-2001) DE (2001-2002)
Occupation	Academic, politician

Ortensio Zecchino (born 20 April 1943) is an Italian academic and politician, former Minister of University and Research.

Biography

After teaching History of Medieval Institutions at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples, Zecchino joined the Christian Democracy and was elected regional councilor of Campania, holding the seat from 1970 to 1979, until he has been elected to the European Parliament.^[1]

In 1987 Zecchino has been elected for the first time to the Senate and held the seat in Palazzo Madama until 2001.

In 1998 Zecchino joined the D'Alema I Cabinet in which he has been appointed Minister of University and Research^[2] and kept the leadership of the ministry in the D'Alema II Cabinet and the Amato II Cabinet.^[3]

Zecchino left the PPI in 2001 when the party was federated into The Daisy, and joined Sergio D'Antoni's European Democracy.^[4]

He has ever been living in Ariano Irpino^[2] where he is heading BioGeM ("Biology and Molecular Genetics") and CESN ("European Centre for Norman Studies").^[1]