Leonilde "Nilde" Iotti (Italian pronunciation:[(leo)ˈnildeˈjɔtti]; 10 April 1920 – 4 December 1999) was an Italian politician, member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI). She was the first and only woman member of the PCI to become the president of the Chamber of Deputies, an office she held for three consecutive legislatures from 1979 to 1992, becoming the longest-serving post-war president of the Chamber.
Early life
Leonilde Iotti was born in Reggio Emilia in 1920; her father Egidio was a railroader and a socialist trade unionist, fired by the railway company on account of his political commitment. In 1934, her father died, but, thanks to a scholarship, she attended the Catholic University of Milan, graduating in literature in 1942. At the university, she had among her professors, Amintore Fanfani, the future Christian Democratic leader and Prime Minister.[1] On 5 October 1942, Iotti became a member of the National Fascist Party (PNF) within the Federation of Female Fascists of Reggio Emilia, as the fascist membership was a necessary condition to becoming a teacher.[2]
In the same year, Iotti started her relationship with the communist leader, Palmiro Togliatti, who was 27 years older than her, which lasted until his death in 1964. Their relationship, which was kept secret in the early years, became public knowledge in 1948, after an attempt on Togliatti's life, a few days after the general election. Their love was opposed by Italy's public opinion, including many communists, because Togliatti was already married to Rita Montagnana at the time. However, Togliatti forced his wife Rita and their son Aldo, who was mentally ill, to live in Moscow, so he could continue his relationship with Iotti. Together they asked for and obtained the adoption of an orphan girl, Marisa Malagoli, the younger sister of one of the six workers killed by Carabinieri on 9 January 1950, in Modena, during a workers' demonstration.[4]
In April 1948, Iotti was re-elected with the PCI to the Chamber of Deputies, of which she was a member without interruption until 1999. In 1956, she became a member of the Central Committee of the Party and in 1962 of the National Direction. Re-elected to the Chamber in 1963, she was appointed to the Constitutional Affairs Commission, focusing her activity on the relevance of the female role in the world of work and family relationships. In the following years, her main commitment became the reform of civil rights, notably the right to divorce. She was particularly involved in the campaign for the 1974 divorce referendum.
Iotti was popular and respected as a president, and was confirmed in the office for two more legislatures. In 1987, she was entrusted by PresidentFrancesco Cossiga with a mandate of potentially forming a government. She became the first communist and the first woman to have ever received an exploratory mandate to become Prime Minister of Italy; however, Iotti was not able to form a coalition.[5]