Francesco Cossiga

Born: 1928-05-26 in Sassari, Sardinia, Italy

Francesco Maurizio Cossiga (26 July 1928 – 17 August 2010) was an Italian politician. A member of Christian Democracy, he was prime minister of Italy from 1979 to 1980 and the president of Italy from 1985 to 1992. Cossiga is widely considered one of the most prominent and influential politicians of the First Italian Republic. Cossiga served as minister on several occasions, most notably as Italian Minister of the Interior. In that position he re-structured the Italian police, civil protection and secret services. Due to his repressive approach to public protests, he was described as a strongman and labeled "Iron Minister". He was in office at the time of the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades, and resigned as the interior minister when Aldo Moro was found dead in May 1978. Cossiga was the prime minister during the 1980 Bologna station massacre. Before his political career, he was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari.