Enrico Berlinguer
Enrico Berlinguer (; 25 May 1922 – 11 June 1984) was an Italian politician, considered the most popular leader of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), which he led as the national secretary from 1972 until his death during a tense period in Italy's history, marked by the Years of Lead and social conflicts such as the Hot Autumn of 1969–1970. 

During his leadership, he distanced the party from the influence of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and pursued a moderate line, repositioning the party within Italian politics and advocating accommodation and national unity. This strategy came to be termed Eurocommunism and he was seen as its main spokesperson. It would come to be adopted by Western Europe's other significant communist parties, in Spain and later France, its significance as a political force cemented by a 1977 meeting in Madrid between Berlinguer, Georges Marchais and Santiago Carrillo. Berlinguer himself described his "alternative" model of socialism, distinct from both the Soviet bloc and the capitalism practiced by Western countries during the Cold War, as the "terza via" or "third way", although his usage of the term has no relation to the more centrist Third Way practiced by subsequent Prime Ministers Romano Prodi and Matteo Renzi.

Under Berlinguer, the PCI reached the height of its success, winning significant victories in the regional and local elections of 1975 and 34% of the vote in the 1976 general election, its highest share of the vote and number of seats. With these gains, he negotiated the Historic Compromise with the Christian Democrats, lending support to their government in exchange for consultation on policy decisions and social reforms. He took a firm stand against terrorism after the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro and used the PCI's influence to steer Italian labour unions towards moderating wage demands to cope with the country's severe inflation rate after the 1973 oil crisis. However, these stands were not reciprocated with sufficient concessions from Giulio Andreotti's government, leading the PCI to leave the coalition in 1979. The combination of austerity advocacy, hard line against the Red Brigades and attempts at an accommodation with the DC affected the PCI's vote at the 1979 election and the Compromise was ultimately ended in 1980. The PCI remained in national opposition for the rest of Berlinguer's tenure, retaining a solid core of support at the 1979 and 1983 elections, but its main strength from that point would remain at the regional and local level.

Berlinguer had an austere and modest but charismatic personality and despite the difficulties that confronted the PCI during the historic compromise, he remained a popular politician, respected for his principles, conviction and bold stands. He characterised the PCI as an honest party in Italy's corruption-ravaged politics, an image that preserved the party's reputation during the "Mani pulite" corruption scandals. He was characterised by Patrick McCarthy as "the last great communist leader in Western Europe" and remains identified with the causes of Eurocommunism, opposition to Soviet repression in Eastern Europe and democratic change in Italy. He was an atheist.
Q82955
politician
Concept
Q461886
Italian Communist Party
ORG
Q4850939
Years of Lead
TIME
Q3630915
Hot Autumn
EVE
Q79854
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
ORG
Q206743
Eurocommunism
MEDIA
Q478811
Spain
ORG
Q192821
France
ORG
Q182192
Georges Marchais
PER
Q298789
Santiago Carrillo
PER
Q7272
socialism
Concept
Q6206
capitalism
Concept
Q8683
Cold War
EVE
Q494792
Third Way
PER
Q38484
Romano Prodi
PER
Q47563
Matteo Renzi
PER
Q3722710
regional
Concept
Q3722146
local
Concept
Q1791557
1976 general election
Concept
Q1620962
Historic Compromise
ORG
Q815348
Christian Democrats
ORG
Q171834
Aldo Moro
PER
Q316817
1973 oil crisis
Concept
Q50005
Giulio Andreotti
PER
Q194019
Red Brigades
ORG
Q1725410
1979 election
Concept
Q687917
1983 elections
Concept
Q921474
Mani pulite
Concept
Q7066
atheist
Concept
Q164995
Enrico Berlinguer
PER
1922-05-25T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
25 May 1922
DATE
1984-06-11T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
11 June 1984
DATE
1972-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1972
DATE
1969-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1969
DATE
1977-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1977
DATE
1975-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1975
DATE
1976-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1976
DATE
1973-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1973
DATE
1979-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1979
DATE
1979-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1979
DATE
1980-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1980
DATE
1979-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1979
DATE
1983-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1983
DATE
+1970^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1970
NUMBER
+34^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
34
NUMBER
occupation
member of political party
date of birth
date of death
secretary general
start time
member of political party