Biography
Forlani was born in Pesaro, Marche.
After the degree in law, Forlani began his career as politician in 1948, holding the position of provincial leader of Italian Christian Democratic Party in Pesaro and Urbino. In 1954 he became member of the central directive of DC.
He was first elected to the chamber of deputies in 1958 and served as foreign minister from 1976 to 1979. In 1969 he had been elected as president of DC.
As prime minister he had to deal with corruption scandals within his party, an earthquake in southern Italy and a renewed bout of left-wing terrorism. He was known as an unflamboyant politician who attempted to stay out of the factionalism in his party. During his presidency, the list of who belonged to the secret lodge P2 was published. However, the lateness with which they were published gained Forlani heavy criticism (in particular from the Italian Communist Party). He was therefore compelled to resign from the position, staying away from spotlight of politics for a certain period. With his resignation, the unbroken line since 1945 of DC Prime Ministers came to an end.
In the two governments led by Bettino Craxi (of Partito Socialista Italiano) in the 1980s, Forlani was the vice prime minister. Italian historians of the period have suggested that Craxi, Forlani and Giulio Andreotti had signed a secret pact to control the politics of Italy: from the initials of their surnames, this pact was named CAF.
During the Tangentopoli scandal, Forlani was charged of having received illegal funds, and subsequently retired from public politics.
His former spokesman, Pier Ferdinando Casini, is considered Forlani's politics direct heir.
Read more about this topic: Arnaldo Forlani
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