Attilio Ruffini

He was born at Mantua on 31 December 1925.
Lawyer
He entered politics in 1945 in the Christian Democrat Party where he held various local and national posts: in 1969 he became a member of the Party Executive, head of the Political Secretariat and National Councillor and from 1974 to 1976 he was the Deputy Secretary, responsible for the Press and Propaganda Office and the local authorities.
He was Under-Secretary for Education in the 2nd Andreotti Government and Under-Secretary at the Treasury in the 4th Rumor Government and was appointed Minister for Transport and Acting Minister for the Merchant Marine under the 3rd Andreotti Government and in September 1977 Minister for Defence in the same Government, a post which he held again in the 4th and 5th Andreotti Governments and in the 1st Cossiga Government until 14 January 1980. He then took up the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs, replacing Franco Maria Malfatti, who had resigned for health reasons.