Marco Pannella was one of the longest-serving politicians in Italy. He was a fighter for civil rights, leading his party into battles for recognition of civil and political rights, starting in the 1970s, with the referendum on divorce and abortion.

As a civil rights defender, he championed the rights of women, inmates, gay people and conscientious objectors. He lobbied against the death penalty, the proliferation of weapons and hunting, and he fought for the legalization of cannabis and the abolition of life imprisonment.

His campaigns were often accompanied by hunger strikes, which many times resulted in his being admitted to hospital, at times with his very life in danger.

His last hunger strike was staged in 2011, at the age of 81, lasting three months to protest against prison overcrowding.

His early life

He was born in Teramo, Abruzzo region, on May 2, 1930. His father owned a small amount of property and his mother was of French and Swiss origin. He graduated from Rome University and got a law degree from the University of Urbino. He was working for a period as a journalist, but was mainly a politician.

He never got married but lived several decades with his surviving companion, Mirella Parachini. Marco Pannella was one of Italy’s most prominent figures, was a member of the European Parliament four times, and was a friend of the Dalai Lama and a huge fan of Martin Luther King, Jr.

He also had a good relationship and common ground (for instance, to end world hunger) with the Vatican, despite Pannella’s anti-church stance and their many clashes.

His political successes

He entered politics in the ranks of the Italian liberal movement. In 1955, he co-founded the Radical Party of Italy; eight years later, he was named the party's secretary.

His ideology was openly anti-clerical and anti-militarist. He was one of the first promoters of the green movements across Europe and also was elected to the European Parliament in 1979, serving until 2009. During his political career, Pannella was equally capable of forming alliances with parties on the left and the right.

He was involved in the defense of civil rights and political rights in Italy, and he was active in reforming public financing of political parties and stopping corruption within Italian politics.

His last moments

Marco Pannella died of cancer on Thursday, May 19, in his sleep. He was admitted to a hospital in Rome a few days before, after three months at home.

Matteo Angioli, Laura Hart, Alessio Falconio, Rita Bernardini, Clemente Mimun, Maurizio Turco and Antonietta Coscioni were his guardian angels and were at his side when he passed. They were his life, his family. Marco Pannella had a great impact on the public and political arena, and he led a life that will forever be remembered in Italy.