Susanna Agnelli
OMRI
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
17 January 1995 – 17 May 1996
Prime MinisterLamberto Dini
Preceded byAntonio Martino
Succeeded byLamberto Dini
Undersecretary
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
9 August 1983 – 11 April 1991
Prime MinisterBettino Craxi
Giovanni Goria
Ciriaco De Mita
Giulio Andreotti
Member of the Senate of the Republic
In office
12 July 1983 – 22 April 1992
ConstituencyPiedmont
Member of the European Parliament
In office
17 July 1979 – 1 October 1981
ConstituencyNorth-West Italy
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
5 July 1976 – 11 July 1983
ConstituencyComo
Mayor of Monte Argentario
In office
8 July 1974 – 20 October 1984
Preceded byEttore Zolesi
Succeeded byFlorio Zolesi
Personal details
Born(1922-04-24)24 April 1922
Turin, Italy
Died15 May 2009(2009-05-15) (aged 87)
Rome, Italy
Political partyPRI
Spouse(s)Count Urbano Rattazzi Jr.
(m. 1945; div. 1975)
Children6
Parents
OccupationEntrepreneur, philanthropist, politician, writer

Susanna Agnelli, Contessa Rattazzi, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (24 April 1922 – 15 May 2009), was an Italian politician, businesswoman, and writer. Involved in Italian politics for over twenty years,[1] she was the first woman to be appointed Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs.[2][3] She was also the first Italian minister to be Minister of Foreign Affairs and undersecretary of the same ministry.[4]

Early life

Agnelli was born in Turin, the daughter of Edoardo Agnelli and Donna Virginia Bourbon del Monte, a daughter of the Prince of San Faustino and his Kentucky-born wife Jane Allen Campbell.[5][6] Her grandfather, Giovanni Agnelli, founded Fiat S.p.A.[7] She is the sister of Gianni Agnelli,[8] who was the head of Fiat until 1996;[9][10][11] members of the Agnelli family are still the controlling shareholders of the company.[2] Affectionally called Suni,[12][13][14] her British governess used to tell her: "Never forget you are an Agnelli."[15][16]

During World War II, Agnelli worked at times as a nurse for the Red Cross, and when transport became unobtainable in the postwar chaos she used her connections with Fiat and the Allied military to establish for the Red Cross a fleet of five ambulances with ten drivers to transport injured and sick civilians.[17] Having graduated in literature, she received a honorary degree in law from the Mount Holyoke University in 1984.[18]

Politics

Politically, the Agnelli family sought to create a non-ideological, centrist political formation of Atlanticist and pro-European persuasion that sought a modernizing, internationalist capitalism in contrast to the left and opposed to the populist, nationalist, or fascist right.[19] In 1974, Agnelli gained her first public appointment, when she became mayor of Monte Argentario. Both her great-grandfather and grandfather, Giovanni Agnelli, had been mayors in their time. Agnelli served as mayor for a decade from 1974 to 1984. The experience inspired her to enter national politics. Agnelli was elected to the Italian Parliament in 1976 for the Italian Republican Party (PRI), of which her brother Gianni Agnelli was also close. In 1979, still for the PRI, she was an MEP in the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981 and sat in the European Liberals and Democrats group.[20] In 1983, she returned to the Italian Parliament, becoming a member of the Senate of the Republic. The culmination of her political career was her appointment as the first female Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1995; it was not until 2013 that Emma Bonino became the next female incumbent of the post. Agnelli served for more than a year, which in the fragile politics of postwar Italy makes her one of the most long-lasting holders of the office.[2] One of her first meetings was with then United States Secretary of State, Warren Christopher.[21]

Agnelli was active in environmentalist causes.[2] Between the 1970s and 1980s, she was president of the World Wildlife Fund and was the only Italian member of the United Nations (UN) World Commission for the Environment and Development (Brundtland Report), later known as the Brundtland Commission. She also sat on the first board of the UN International Institute for Ageing.[22][23] Her mayoralty, which included a local left-wing alliance between the self-styled PRI party of enlightened capitalism and the Italian Communist Party, a party that held high esteem for her anti-speculation efforts, was characterized by soil defence.[16] As a mayor, she also expressed her favourable view about the new abortion law in Italy that legalized abortion, for which the city's bishop excommunicated her.[24][25]

From the early 1990s, Agnelli was president of the Steering Committee of Telethon, which was founded in Italy in 1990.[26] In 1997, she set up the Il Faro Foundation,[18][27] a non-profit organization that aims to help Italian and foreign young people in difficulty in the labour market.[28][29] She had a popular mail column titled "Private answers" in the weekly magazine Oggi.[30][31] In an interview to The Washington Post several years before her death, Agnelli discussed the most difficult part of politics. She said: "Sitting for days listening to people talk, talk, talk. Male politicians can stand up and talk to an empty house, where there are six people reading newspapers. I could never do that. It's such a waste of time."[32]

Personal life and death

In 1945, Agnelli married Count Urbano Rattazzi Jr. (1918–2012),[33][34] the great-grandson of two-time prime minister Urbano Rattazzi of the Historical Left.[35] They had six children,[36] the youngest of whom is photographer Priscilla Rattazzi, who said Agnelli loved New York City.[2] Until 1960, they lived in Argentina. The marriage was dissolved in 1975.[18] She divided her time between New York and Italy, and she was long a loyal fan of Robert Denning, of Denning & Fourcade, who designed over 15 homes for her in Manhattan, South America, and Italy.[37]

Agnelli died in Rome on 15 May 2009, aged 87.[2] From 3 April 2009, she had been hospitalized at the Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic for over a month after severe femoral trauma due to an accidental fall at home.[18][38] After her death, she was mourned among the main political and cultural actors. Journalist Enzo Biagi described Agnelly thusly: "They call her Suni; she is a courageous woman who above all has one merit: sincerity. Sometimes, in interviews, she too can say hasty things: but she's not a hypocrite or flatterer, she doesn't calculate. In forty days she wrote a book of memories, some even unpleasant: We Dressed in the Sailor Suit. It has sold 255,000 copies, has been translated into other languages, and won the Bancarella Prize."[18]

Books

Agnelli wrote a number of books including Vestivamo alla marinara (1975),[39] Gente alla deriva (1980), Ricordati Gualeguaychu (1982), Addio, addio mio ultimo amore (1985), and Questo libro è tuo (1993).[40][41][42] Her 1975 autobiography was a bestseller in Italy and won the Premio Bancarella.[43]

In popular culture

In 2022, Agnelli was the subject of an episode of the RAI docu-series Illuminate.[44]

Honours

References

  1. ^ Brozan, Nadine (22 October 1996). "Chronicle". The New York Times. p. 7. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Donadio, Rachel (16 May 2009). "Susanna Agnelli, First Woman in Italy to Run Foreign Office, Dies at 87". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Susanna Agnelli, 87, Fiat heir, pol". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  4. ^ Ajmone Marsan, Giulia (23 April 2022). "Le tre vite di Susanna Agnelli". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. ^ "La famiglia Agnelli: una stirpe di imprenditori". Rivista Zoom (in Italian). 7 September 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  6. ^ "La famiglia Agnelli: una delle più grandi dinastie italiane". Elle Italia (in Italian). 11 May 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  7. ^ Freeman, A. L. (13 December 2012). "Italian Villa, Rich in History, Has Access to Private Beach". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  8. ^ Cowell, Alan; HakiM, Danny (7 July 2002). "Intrigue at the Palazzo Agnelli". The New York Times. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  9. ^ Betts, Paul (26 June 2008). "Keys to the family car". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  10. ^ Kovick, Margaret (9 March 2021). "The personal history of Giovanni 'Gianni' Agnelli". Wanted in Rome. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  11. ^ Castellani, Massimo (23 December 2022). "Calcio. Juventus, 100 anni sotto la real casa Agnelli". Avvenire (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  12. ^ Barron, James (20 April 1999). "Public Lives". The New York Times. p. 2. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  13. ^ Bachrach, Judy (22 March 2011). "La Vita Agnelli". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  14. ^ Soncini, Guia (14 April 2022). "Le Suni e i Vittorio che avranno cent'anni nel 2022". Linkiesta. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  15. ^ "Morta a Roma Susanna Agnelli". GiornaleSM (in Italian). 15 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  16. ^ a b Sassoon, Donald (19 May 2009). "Susanna Agnelli". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  17. ^ Agnelli, Susanna (1975). We Always Wore Sailor Suits (1st ed.). London: Corgi. pp. 197–211. ISBN 05-52-10530-9.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "Il Roseto 'Rosa della Pace'" (PDF). Le rose di Asfarm (in Italian). June 2006. pp. 152–153. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  19. ^ Cingolani, Stefano (24 January 2013). "Quando Agnelli disse: 'Berlusconi in politica? Prende il 3%'". Linkiesta (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Addio a Susanna Agnelli" (in Italian). RAI. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Christopher Feeling Fit". The New York Times. 28 February 1995. p. 8. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  22. ^ Busuttil, Salvinu (19 May 2009). "Appreciation — Susanna Agnelli". Times of Malta. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  23. ^ Vella, Charles (25 May 2009). "Credit where credit is due". Times of Malta. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  24. ^ Cini, Letizia (14 January 2022). "Susanna Agnelli fra le 'Illuminate' italiane, una donna coraggiosa con il merito della sincerità". Luce (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  25. ^ "Susanna Agnelli: tra politica, volonariato e i diritti delle donne". F.I.Te.L. Emilia-Romagna (in Italian). 23 April 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  26. ^ "Susanna Agnelli avrebbe compiuto 100 anni. Le strepitose foto di Pizzi". Formiche.net (in Italian). 22 April 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  27. ^ "15 maggio 2009. Si spegne Susanna Agnelli, 'il Faro' di Telethon". TGFuneral24 (in Italian). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  28. ^ Manzo, Paolo (27 June 2002). "La nuova vita della Agnelli. Il Faro di Susanna". Vita (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  29. ^ Salini, Antonella (10 April 2015). "'Il Faro', il 60% dei giovani trova lavoro e una vita nuova grazie alla Fondazione di Susanna Agnelli – Video". Dire.it (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  30. ^ "Addio a Susanna Agnelli raccontò la saga della Famiglia". La Repubblica (in Italian). 15 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  31. ^ Isaacson, Walter (1 June 2009). "Susanna Agnelli". Time. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  32. ^ "Susanna Agnelli Member of Fiat dynasty". Los Angeles Times. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  33. ^ Scajola, Lucia (18 February 2014). "Urbano Rattazzi, il fronte russo fra signori e Agnelli". Panorama (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  34. ^ Ambrosio, Emanuele (7 October 2021). "Urbano Rattazzi, marito e figli Susanna Agnelli/ 'Fu un amore molto improvviso'". Il Sussidario (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  35. ^ Griffini, Amerino (29 June 2017). "Effemeridi. Urbano Rattazzi il conte che si arruolò nel battaglione Barbarigo della X Mas". Barbadillo (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  36. ^ "E' morta Susanna Agnelli, la sorella dell'Avvocato". Quotidiano.net (in Italian). 15 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  37. ^ Thurman, Judith (March 1995). "Editorial Statement — Brushing Up Jason Epstein's Downtown Loft". Architectural Digest. Vol. 52, no. 3. pp. 186–200.
  38. ^ "Susanna Agnelli, member of Italy's Fiat dynasty, dies aged 87". The Daily Telegraph. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  39. ^ Dash, Joan (12 October 1975). "We Always Wore Sailor Suits". The New York Times. p. 290. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  40. ^ Elkann, Alain (July 1995). "Susanna Agnelli". Capital. Retrieved 16 February 2023 – via Alain Elkann Interviews, 4 February 2015.
  41. ^ "Tutti i libri di Susanna Agnelli da leggere". DonnaD (in Italian). Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  42. ^ Celeste, Giusy (23 April 2022). "Susanna Agnelli, una donna dai mille talenti". Metropolitan Magazine (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  43. ^ "Agnelli, Susanna". Treccani (in Italian). Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  44. ^ "Susanna Agnelli: vita di una donna straordinaria". DiLei (in Italian). 14 January 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  45. ^ "Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana — Agnelli On. Susanna" (in Italian). Quirinale. Archived from the original on 22 May 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  46. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana – Agnelli On. Susanna" (in Italian). Quirinale. Retrieved 15 February 2023.

Further reading

External links

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Political offices Preceded byAntonio Martino Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs 1995–1996 Succeeded byLamberto Dini
Dini Cabinet (1995–1996)
Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs
Recipients of the Bancarella Prize
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