Editing Enrico De Nicola

{{Short description|Head of state of Italy from 1946 to 1948}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox president
| honorific_prefix    = 
| name                = Enrico De Nicola
| honorific_suffix    = {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|OMRI]]|size=100%}}
| image               = Enrico De Nicola (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1948
| office              = [[President of Italy]]
| primeminister       = [[Alcide De Gasperi]]
| term_start          = 1 January 1948
| term_end            = 12 May 1948
| predecessor         = ''Position established''<br/><small>([[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]] as [[King of Italy]])</small>
| successor           = [[Luigi Einaudi]]
| order1              = [[List of presidents of Italy#Substitute of the head of state|Provisional Head of State of Italy]]
| term_start1         = 28 June 1946
| term_end1           = 1 January 1948
| primeminister1      = Alcide De Gasperi
| predecessor1        = Alcide De Gasperi
| successor1          = Position abolished
| order3              = [[List of presidents of the Constitutional Court of Italy|President of the Constitutional Court]]
| term_start3         = 23 January 1956
| term_end3           = 26 March 1957
| predecessor3        = Position established
| successor3          = [[Gaetano Azzariti]]
| order4              = [[List of presidents of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)|President of the Senate of the Republic]]
| term_start4         = 28 April 1951
| term_end4           = 24 June 1952
| predecessor4        = [[Ivanoe Bonomi]]
| successor4          = [[Giuseppe Paratore]]
| order5              = [[List of presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|President of the Chamber of Deputies]]
| term_start5         = 26 June 1920
| term_end5           = 25 January 1924
| predecessor5        = [[Vittorio Emanuele Orlando]]
| successor5          = [[Alfredo Rocco]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|last=yes|Parliamentary offices
|titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
 |office6 = Member of the [[Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Senate of the Republic]]
 |term_label6 = [[Senators for life in Italy|Life tenure]]
 |term_start6 = 12 May 1948
 |term_end6 = 1 October 1959
 |status6             = ''[[Ex officio]]''
 |office7 = Member of the [[Senate of the Kingdom of Italy|Senate of the Kingdom]]
 |term_start7 = 2 March 1939
 |term_end7 = 3 August 1943
 |appointer7 = [[Victor Emmanuel III]]
 |office8 = Member of the [[Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]]
 |term_start8 = 24 March 1909
 |term_end8 = 25 January 1924
 |constituency8 = [[Afragola]] (1909–1919)<br>[[Naples]] (1919–1924){{collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1877|11|9|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Naples]], [[Campania]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1959|10|1|1877|11|9|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Torre del Greco]], Campania, Italy
| alma_mater          = [[University of Naples Federico II]]
| profession          = [[Lawyer]]
| party               = [[Italian Liberal Party (1943)|Italian Liberal Party]]
| signature           = Enrico De Nicola signature.svg
}}

'''Enrico De Nicola''', {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|OMRI]]}} ({{IPA|it|enˈriːko de niˈkɔːla|lang|It-Enrico de Nicola.ogg}}; 9 November 1877 – 1 October 1959)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA436 |title=Heads of States and Governments Since 1945 |editor-last=Lentz |editor-first=Harris M. |date=4 February 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134264902 |pages=436 }}</ref> was an Italian [[jurist]], [[journalist]], [[politician]], [[Statesman (politician)|statesman]], and provisional head of state of [[1946 Italian constitutional referendum|republican Italy]] from 1946 to 1948. Afterwards, he became the first [[president of Italy]] on 1 January 1948.<ref>{{cite book |title=Italy: a primary source cultural guide |first=Lesli J. |last=Favor |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |year=2004 |ISBN=0-8239-3839-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/italyprimarysour0000favo/page/36 36] |url=https://archive.org/details/italyprimarysour0000favo/page/36 }}</ref>

==Biography==
Enrico De Nicola was born in [[Naples]] and became famous as a [[Criminal law|penal lawyer]]. He studied law at the University of Naples, graduating in 1896.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldpresidentsdb.com/Enrico-De-Nicola/|title=Enrico De Nicola - Italian President|website=World Presidents Database}}</ref> As a [[Liberal Party (Italy)|Liberal]] he was elected a [[Chamber of Deputies of Italy|deputy]] for the first time in 1909 and, from 1913 to 1921, he filled minor governmental posts until the advent of [[fascism]], when he retired from political life. He served as [[Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies]] in the [[Giovanni Giolitti|Giolitti]] government (November 1913 — March 1914) and [[Under-Secretary of State]] for the [[Treasury]] in the [[Vittorio Emanuele Orlando|Orlando]] cabinet (January–June 1919). On 26 June 1920, he was elected [[speaker (politics)|speaker]] of the [[Chamber of Deputies of Italy|Chamber of Deputies]], holding office until January 1924. He was appointed [[Senate of Italy|senator]] by King [[Victor Emmanuel III]] in 1929, but he refused to take his seat and never took part in the workings of the Assembly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://videos.orange.es/video/iLyROoaftLOt.html |first=S. M. |last=Sergio |title=Elogio dell'Avvocato |publisher=Pironti |access-date=26 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720142958/http://videos.orange.es/video/iLyROoaftLOt.html |archive-date=20 July 2011  |language=it}}</ref>
[[File:President Enrico De Nicola sign the Italian Constitution 1947.jpg|left|thumb|230px|De Nicola signs the [[Italian Constitution]] on 27 December 1947]]

He returned to his law practice, only taking an interest in politics again after the fall of [[Italian Fascism]]. After [[Benito Mussolini]]'s fall from power in 1943, king Victor Emmanuel tried to extricate the monarchy from its collaboration with the Fascist regime; De Nicola was perhaps the most influential [[mediation|mediator]] in the ensuing transition. The king's son [[Umberto II|Umberto]] acquired a new title of "[[Luogotenente|Lieutenant-General of the Realm]]" and took over most of the functions of the sovereign. Victor Emanuel later abdicated; Umberto became king as Umberto II and a [[1946 Italian constitutional referendum|Constitutional Referendum]] was held, won by republicans. A new [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|Constituent Assembly]] was elected, and prime minister [[Alcide de Gasperi]] became acting head of state for a few weeks when Umberto II was exiled and left Italy. The Constituent Assembly then elected De Nicola Provisional Head of State on 28 June 1946, with 80% of the votes, at the first round of voting. [[Giulio Andreotti]] later recalled that De Nicola — a man of great modesty — was not sure whether to accept the nomination and underwent frequent changes of mind in the face of repeated insistence by all the major political leaders. Andreotti recalled that the journalist Manlio Lupinacci then issued an appeal to De Nicola in the pages of ''Il Giornale d'Italia'': "Your Excellency, please, decide to decide if you can accept to accept...."<ref>B. Vespa, ''Storia d'Italia da Mussolini a Berlusconi'', p. 32 {{in lang|it}}</ref>

On 25 June 1947, De Nicola resigned from the post, citing health reasons, but the Constituent Assembly immediately re-elected him again the following day, having recognized in his act signs of nobility and humility. After the [[Constitution of Italy|Italian Constitution]] took effect, he was formally named the "[[President of the Italian Republic]]" on 1 January 1948. He finally refused to be a candidate for the first constitutional election the following May, in which [[Luigi Einaudi]] was elected to the [[Quirinale]], the formal seat of the Italian presidency.<ref>Cristina Mascheroni, ''Enrico De Nicola'', Infobergamo (2006) [http://www.infobergamo.it/bergamo/articoli/2006/14denic4.htm] {{in lang|it}} Accessed 26 January 2012</ref>

In 1948, De Nicola became a [[senator for life]] as a former Head of State,{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} and later was elected President of the Senate, and of the Constitutional Court.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

He died at [[Torre del Greco]], in the [[province of Naples]], on 1 October 1959.<ref name="DBDI">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/enrico-de-nicola_(Dizionario-Biografico) |title=DE NICOLA, Enrico |first=Piero |last=Craveri |encyclopedia=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani |language=it |volume=38 |year=1990}} </ref> He was unmarried and had no children.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Honours==
[[Image:OSSIbis3.png|100px]] &ndash; [[Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity]]{{cn|date=November 2019}}

[[Image:Cordone di gran Croce di Gran Cordone OMRI BAR.svg|100px]] &ndash; [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]] (1956)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/insigniti/32369|title=Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana|website=www.quirinale.it}}</ref>

==Political titles==
His other political titles included President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Temporary Chief of the Italian State and President of the Italian Senate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/italy/presidents_italy1/denicola.php|title=Biography of De Nicola, Enrico - Archontology.org|website=www.archontology.org}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography and notes==
* Andrea Jelardi, ''Enrico De Nicola. Il presidente galantuomo'', Kairòs, Naples (2009). {{in lang|it}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
* {{PM20|FID=pe/022621}}

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{{S-legal}}
{{s-new|office}}
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{{S-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:De Nicola, Enrico}}
[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Neapolitan people]]
[[Category:Italian Liberal Party politicians]]
[[Category:Presidents of Italy]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Italian Senate]]
[[Category:Deputies of Legislature XXIII of the Kingdom of Italy]]
[[Category:Deputies of Legislature XXIV of the Kingdom of Italy]]
[[Category:Deputies of Legislature XXV of the Kingdom of Italy]]
[[Category:Deputies of Legislature XXVI of the Kingdom of Italy]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy]]
[[Category:Members of the National Council (Italy)]]
[[Category:Senators of Legislature I of Italy]]
[[Category:Senators of Legislature II of Italy]]
[[Category:Senators of Legislature III of Italy]]
[[Category:Italian life senators]]
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[[Category:Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian judges]]