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{{Use mdmy dates|date=SeptDecember 20112}}
{{Infobox Prime Minister 
| name               = Alcide De Gasperi
| image              = Alcide de Gasperi 2.jpg
| order              = [[List of Prime Ministers of Italy|30th]] <br> [[Prime Minister of Italy]]
| monarch            = [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]]<br>[[Umberto II of Italy|Umberto II]]
| president    	     = [[Enrico De Nicola]] <br> [[Luigi Einaudi]]
| term_start         = 10 December 10, 1945 
| term_end           = 17 August 17, 1953
| predecessor        = [[Ferruccio Parri]]
| successor          = [[Giuseppe Pella]]
| order2             = [[Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start2        = 12 December 12, 1944 
| term_end2          = 18 October 18, 1946
| primeminister2     = [[Ivanoe Bonomi]] <br> [[Ferruccio Parri]] <br> ''Himself''
| predecessor2       = [[Ivanoe Bonomi]]
| successor2         = [[Pietro Nenni]]
| term_start3        = 26 July 26, 1951 
| term_end3          = 17 August 17, 1953
| primeminister3     = ''Himself''
| predecessor3       = [[Carlo Sforza]]
| successor3         = [[Giuseppe Pella]]
| order4             = [[Italian Minister of the Interior|Minister of the Interior]]
| term_start4        = 13 July 13, 1946 
| term_end4          = 2 February 2, 1947
| primeminister4     = ''Himself''
| predecessor4       = [[Giuseppe Romita]]
| successor4         = [[Mario Scelba]]
| order6             = 2nd
| office6            = President of the Common Assembly of the ECSC
| term_start6        = 1 January 1, 1954 
| term_end6          = 19 August 19, 1954
| predecessor6       = [[Paul Henri Spaak]]
| successor6         = [[Giuseppe Pella]]
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1881|4|3|df=y}}
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1954|8|19|1881|4|3|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Pieve Tesino]], [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_place        = [[Borgo Valsugana]], [[Trentino|Trentin]], Italy
| spouse             = Francesca Romani
| alma_mater         = [[University of Vienna]]
| children           = Maria Romana De Gasperi <br> ''other 3 daughters''
| nationality        = [[Italians|Italian]]
| party              = [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Christian Democracy]]
| religion           = Roman CatholicChristian <!-- It is for religioun; not for sects -->
}}

'''Alcide De Gasperi''' ({{IPA-it|alˈtʃiːde de ˈɡasperi}}; 3 April 3, 1881 – 19 August 19, 1954) was an Italian statesman and politician and founder of the [[Democrazia Cristiana|Christian Democratic Party]]. From 1945 to 1953 he was the prime minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year term in office remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics.  A conservative Catholic, he was one of the [[Founding fathers of the European Union]], along with the [[France|Frenchman]] [[Robert Schuman]] and the West German Chancellor [[Konrad Adenauer]](contracted; show full)ic Church in Italy worked hard to encourage people to vote against communist candidates. The Christian Democratic propaganda became famous in claiming that in Communist countries "children sent parents to jail", "children were owned by the state", "people ate their own children", and claiming disaster would strike Italy if the left were to take power.<ref name=tim120448>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,779791,00.html Show of Force], Time Magazine,
 12 April 12, 1948</ref><ref name=tim190448>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,798374,00.html How to Hang On], Time Magazine, 19 April 19, 1948</ref> 

In the US a campaign was launched to prevent a victory of the Communist dominated [[Popular Democratic Front (Italy)|Popular Democratic Front]] (FDP – {{lang-it|Fronte Democratico Popolare}}). Italian-Americans were encouraged to write letters to their relatives in Italy. The popular Italian-American singer [[Frank Sinatra]] made a [[Voice of America]] radio broadcast. The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) funneled "black bag" contributions to anti-communist candidates with the approval of the [[National Security Council]] and President [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]]. [[Joseph P. Kennedy]] and Claire Booth Luce helped to raise US$2&nbsp;million for the Christian Democrat Party.<ref>[http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch24cld.html  The Cold War Begins], Frank Eugene Smitha</ref> Time Magazine backed the campaign and featured De Gasperi on its 19 April 19, 1948 issue’s cover and in its lead story.<ref name=tim190448/> (He would appear on a Time cover again on May 25, 1953, during the campaign for that year's election, with an extensive biography.<ref name=time250553>[http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/printout/0,8816,890557,00.html Man from the Mountains], Time Magazine, 25 May 25, 1953</ref>)

The Christian Democrats won a resounding victory with 48 percent of the vote (their best result ever). The communists received only half of the votes they had in 1946. The Christian Democrats won a parliamentary majority, and De Gasperi formed a new centre-right government. In the following five years De Gasperi continued to run the country. "De Gasperi’s policy is patience," according to the foreign news correspondent for the [[New York Times]], [[Anne O'Hare McCormick|Anne McCormick]]. "He seems to be feeling his way among the explosive problems he has to deal with, but perhaps this wary mine-detecting method is the stabilizing force that holds the country in balance."<ref>New York Times, 16 February 16, 1949, quoted in [http://www.arts.mun.ca/congrips/newsletter/61%20-%20Fall%202005.pdf De Gasperi through American Eyes: Media and Public Opinion, 1945–53], by Steven F. White, in: Italian Politics and Society, No.61 Fall/Winter 2005</ref>

===Death and legacy===
In 1952, the party overwhelmingly endorsed his authority over the government and over the party. However, it was also the start of his decline. He came under increasing criticism from the emerging left wing in the party. Their main accusations were that he was too cautious in social and economic reform, that he stifled debate, and that he subordinated the party to the interests of government.

When the Christian Democrats did not gain a majority in the [[Italian general election, 1953|elections of 1953]], De Gasperi was unable to establish a workable government and was forced to resign as Prime Minister.<ref name=time270653>[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,936090,00.html Cabinet Maker], Time, 27 July 27, 1953</ref><ref name=time100853>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,818642,00.html De Gasperi's Fall], Time, 10 August 10, 1953</ref> The following year he also had to give up the leadership of the party.

Two months later, on 19 August 19, 1954, he died in [[Sella di Valsugana]], in his beloved Trentino. He is buried in the [[Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura]], a basilica in Rome. The process for his [[beatification]] was opened in 1993.<ref>{{it icon}} [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92035 Servo di Dio Alcide De Gasperi], Santi beati</ref>

"De Gasperi was against exacerbating conflict," according to his former secretary and former Prime Minister [[Giulio Andreotti]]. "He taught us to search for compromise, to mediate."<ref name=ind240995>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_/ai_n14008143 All the prime minister's men], by [[Alexander Stille]], The Independent, 24 September 24, 1995</ref>

He is considered to be one of the [[Founding fathers of the European Union]]. From the very beginning of European integration, De Gasperi, Robert Schuman and Konrad Adenauer met regularly.<ref>[http://www.epp-ed.eu/Activities/docs/cd-rom/degasperi-en.pdf Alcide De Gasperi's humanist and European message],  European People's Party</ref> He helped organize the [[Council of Europe]] and supported to the [[Schumann Plan]], which in 1951 led to the foundation of the [[European Coal and Steel Community]] (ECSC) – a forerunner in the process of European integration. He was named president of the Community in 1954, and although the project eventually failed, De Gasperi helped develop the idea of the common [[European Defense Community|European defence policy]].<ref>[http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=2497 In the beginning was De Gasperi], The Florentine, 4 October 4, 2007</ref> In 1952 he received the [[Karlspreis]] (International Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen), an award by the German city of [[Aachen]] to people who contributed to the European idea and European peace. The 1954–1955 academic year at the [[College of Europe]] was named in his honour.

==See also==
* [[Alcide de Gasperi Building]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
(contracted; show full){{Charlemagne Prize recipients}}

{{Authority control|VIAF=32011324}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              = De Gasperi, Alcide
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = 
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = 
| DATE OF BIRTH     =
 3 April 3, 1881
| PLACE OF BIRTH    = [[Pieve Tesino]], [[County of Tyrol]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| DATE OF DEATH     = 19 August 19, 1954
| PLACE OF DEATH    = [[Borgo Valsugana]], [[Trentino]], Italy
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Gasperi, Alcide}}
[[Category:1881 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Trentino]]
[[Category:Italian journalists]]
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