Giorgio Napolitano passed away

According to the Italian press, Napolitano, who was president between 2006 and 2015, died yesterday afternoon in the clinic in the capital where he had been receiving treatment for some time. It was claimed that the former president’s condition had worsened in recent days.

After Napolitano’s death, President Sergio Mattarella, in his message of condolence, stated: “His death saddens me deeply and I express the gratitude of the Republic.” he said. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her condolences to Napolitano’s family on behalf of the Italian government.

Pope Francis, spiritual leader of Catholics and president of the Vatican, stated that he learned with deep sadness the news of the death of Napolitano, whom he described as “the person who made correct and important decisions in critical times for Italy.” “

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also stated in her post on the “X” platform that she was sorry for Napolitano’s death.

THE FIRST NAME ELECTED PRESIDENT IN ITALY FOR THE SECOND TIME

Napolitano, born in Naples in 1925, entered politics from the Italian Communist Party in his youth and quickly became one of the party’s most important figures.

Napolitano, who was elected to the House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, several times in different terms, including 1953-1963 and 1968-1996, was also speaker of the House of Representatives in 1992-1994.

Napolitano, who served as Minister of the Interior in the left-wing coalition government established under the leadership of Romano Prodi in 1996, remained in this position until 1998.

In 2005, then-president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi declared him a “senator for life” and he became a natural member of the Senate, the upper house of parliament.

In 2006, with the appointment of the second government of Romano Prodi and the support of left-wing parties, Napolitano was elected eleventh president of the Italian Republic.

When Napolitano completed his seven-year term as president in 2013, Italy was in a political crisis due to a severe financial debt crisis and the failure to form a government after elections.

Napolitano was elected president once again in 2013, and the right-wing and left-wing parties nominated candidates together to prevent the political crisis from deepening with a presidential election.

Napolitano thus made history by being the first person elected to this position for the second time in Italy, governed by the Republic since 1946.

The second election of Giorgio Napolitano was greeted with the headlines “Re Giorgio (King Giorgio)” in the Italian and some foreign media.

Napolitano resigned from the presidency in early 2015, after political stability was achieved in the country in 2014, and left office before completing his second seven-year term.

Sergio Mattarella, then a judge of the Constitutional Court, was elected to the vacant presidency after Napolitano’s resignation. Like Napolitano, Mattarella was elected to this position for the second time in 2022, following the first term of his seven-year presidency.

NAPOLITAN’S APPROACH TOWARDS Türkiye

Giorgio Napolitano, one of the Italian politicians who supported Turkey’s membership in the European Union (EU), made an official visit to Turkey during his presidency between November 16 and 19, 2009, as a guest of then-president Abdullah Gül. During his official contacts in Ankara, Napolitano called on the EU to fulfill its promises to Turkey at that time.

In the last part of his three-day visit to Turkey, Napolitano went to Izmir and visited the ancient city of Ephesus.

Giorgio Napolitano received the then president Abdullah Gül, who made a new visit, on January 29, 2014, in Rome.

At the press conference held after his meeting with Gül at the Quirinal Palace, Napolitano spoke about Turkey’s membership in the EU; “The negotiating decision was taken unanimously by the heads of state of all EU member states. Some major European countries negatively affected these negotiations by slowing or even freezing them. These negotiations are still almost in their early stages. Türkiye’s place is in Europe. “It is a complementary country of the Euro-Mediterranean region.” and “We know that this is a difficult and thorny path. Because the acceptance of Greek Cyprus into the EU as a State has complicated the situation.” He used the following expressions.