Consiglio Supremo di Difesa | |
 Coat of Arms of Italy | |
 High Council of Defence in 2019 | |
| Formation | 28 July 1950 |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Institution of constitutional importance |
| Headquarters | Quirinal Palace, Rome |
| Sergio Mattarella | |
| Giorgia Meloni | |
Secretary | Francesco Saverio Garofani (since 2022) |
The Supreme Council of Defence (Italian : Consiglio Supremo di Difesa) is an Italian institution of constitutional importance which controls the Italian Armed Forces. [1]
The Italian Constitutional Convention of 1947, mindful of High Commissions of Defence of the statuary tradition and taking inspiration from the High Council of National Defence of the Fourth French Republic, gave the President of Italy, as Head of State, the role of President of the High Council of Defence, along with several other roles. [2] The Constitution did not state how this council would be organised or what its powers were, leaving this for the Italian Parliament to determine.
The Consiglio Supremo di Difesa was created by Law no. 624 of 28 July 1950, during the Korean War, in light of fear that the conflict might spread to Europe. The ultimate responsibility for political and technical matters of national security was given to its members: the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of the Defence Staff, as well as the Ministers of the Interior, of Foreign Affairs, of the Treasury, and of Industry and Commerce. The law left several important issues undefined, such as the exact legal nature of the council and its place within the Italian constitutional system. [3] The references in the Constitution are capable of multiple interpretations, as are the law of 1950 and the Presidential Decree no. 251 of 4 August 1990. As a result, most of the internal organisation and powers of the council are regulated de facto rather than de jure.
The continually changing balance of power between the key institutions of the Italian State (especially between the President and the Prime Minister), along with the lack of published guidelines on the workings and activities of the Consiglio Supremo di Difesa, have prevented its functions from being solidified by any sort of constitutional convention more durable than the tenures of the individual officeholders who have sat on it. When the law of 1950 was passed, President Luigi Einaudi, Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi, and Defence Minister Randolfo Pacciardi agreed on the role and nature of the council, leaving a record of this in the preamble of the 1951 regulation. But this constitutional convention did not last long and the council that emerged under President Giovanni Gronchi was substantially different from that of the early 1950s.
The council is thus a "chameleontic institution", whose nature is shaped by the various political and institutional contexts which face Italy at any moment: from a collegial institution with specific powers to a mere site of conflict between the President and the Prime Minister, without any autonomy; from an institution which participated in the political process to one with only administrative functions; from an institution with advisory and consultative powers to one with the ability to determine the most important issues of national security and impose its solutions on the government and parliament through the adoption of binding political directives. [4] [5]
The High Council of Defence is chaired by the President of the Republic of Italy [6] and, according to the statement of Law no.624/1950 ("Institution of the High Council of Defence"), it "examines the general political and technical problems related to national defence and determines policies and issues directives for the organisation and the coordination of activities which relate to it in anyway." [7]
It is regulated by the terms of title II of Decree no.66 of 15 March 2010 ("Code of Military Organisation").
The council is chaired by the President of Italy and is composed (as a result of the amalgamation and renaming of various ministerial portfolios) of:
The Secretary of the High Council of Defence, appointed by the council itself, is a permanent and autonomous office. [8] Meetings of the Council can be attended by the heads of the four armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Carabinieri), the President of the Council of State, and any other individuals with particular scientific, industrial, and economic knowledge or expertise in military problems.
The High Council of Defence meets at least twice a year and is convened by the President, but it can also be convened at the request of the Prime Minister whenever necessary.
The council examines general issues relating to national defence on the basis of general directives formulated by the executive and the Parliament and produces directives which are binding on the President, the Council of Ministers (and therefore all the individual ministries) and the leaders of the armed forces.
Its powers are largely defined in negative terms, such that in practice the majority of the practical decision-making powers mentioned in Law no.624/1950 actually belong to other institutions. In particular, those elements of the political process which relate to foreign affairs and military policy belong to the executive, and the Chief of the Defence Staff is responsible for the formulation of strategic plans and the defence of the borders. As a result, the council limited to playing a consultative and advisory role to the Council of Ministers, much like an Inter-ministerial Committee.
| Image | Name | Role | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Sergio Mattarella | President of the Republic | 3 February 2015 |
 | Giorgia Meloni | Prime Minister | 22 October 2022 |
 | Antonio Tajani | Minister of Foreign Affairs | 22 October 2022 |
 | Guido Crosetto | Minister of Defence | 22 October 2022 |
 | Matteo Piantedosi | Minister of the Interior | 22 October 2022 |
 | Giancarlo Giorgetti | Minister of Economy and Finance | 22 October 2022 |
 | Adolfo Urso | Minister of Business and Made in Italy | 22 October 2022 |
 | Alfredo Mantovano | Secretary of the Council of Ministers | 22 October 2022 |
 | Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone | Chief of the Defence Staff | 19 October 2021 |
 | Francesco Saverio Garofani | Secretary of the Supreme Council of Defence | 24 February 2022 |
The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly was elected to draft a constitution, which was promulgated on 1 January 1948.
A prime minister,premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving as the principle administrator under either a monarch in a monarchy or a president in a republican form of government.
The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President.
The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers, is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Constitution of Italy; the president of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the president of the Republic and must have the confidence of the Parliament to stay in office.
A referendum, in the Italian legal system is a request directed to the whole electorate to express their view on a determined question. It is the main instrument of direct democracy in Italy.
The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, was promulgated in an extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale on 27 December 1947. The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage on 2 June 1946, on the same day as the referendum on the abolition of the monarchy was held, and it was formed by the representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the Italian Civil War. The election was held in all Italian provinces. The Constitution was drafted in 1946 and came into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino, had been enacted.
Paolo Emilio Taviani was an Italian political leader, economist, and historian of the career of Christopher Columbus. He was a partisan leader in Liguria, a Gold Medal of the Italian resistance movement, then a member of the Consulta and the Constituent Council, later of the Italian Parliament from 1948 until his death. Several times minister in the Republic’s governments. He was author of studies on economics and important works on Christopher Columbus, University professor and journalist.
The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic, is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Italian Armed Forces and chairs the High Council of the Judiciary. A president's term of office lasts for seven years. The incumbent president is former constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, who was elected on 31 January 2015, and re-elected on 29 January 2022.
The Ministry of Defence is the government body of the Italian Republic responsible for military and civil defence matters and managing the Italian Armed Forces. It is led by the Italian Minister of Defence, a position occupied by Guido Crosetto since October 2022.
The Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Government of Italy. It comprises the President of the Council, all the ministers, and the Undersecretary to the Prime Minister. Deputy ministers and junior ministers are part of the government, but are not members of the Council of Ministers.
Sabino Cassese is an Italian jurist, former minister for the public function in the Ciampi government (1993–1994), and judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy (2005–2014).
Chamber of Fasces and Corporations was the lower house of the legislature of the Kingdom of Italy from 23 March 1939 to 5 August 1943, during the height of the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party.
The Ministry of the Interior is a government agency of Italy, headquartered in Rome. It is cabinet-level ministry of the Italian Republic. As of October 2022, Matteo Piantedosi, former Prefect of Rome, is the minister.
Italian Council of the European Movement is an Italian advocacy group.
Marta Cartabia is an Italian jurist and academic who served as Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on 4 December 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved a constitutional law that amends the Italian Constitution to reform the composition and powers of the Parliament of Italy, as well as the division of powers between the State, the regions, and administrative entities.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies is the speaker of the lower house of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. It is the third highest-ranking office of the Italian Republic, after the president of the Republic and the president of the Senate. Since 14 October 2022, the role has been held by Lorenzo Fontana.
The High Council of the Judiciary is an Italian institution of constitutional importance, which regulates the Ordinary Judiciary of Italy. The High Council is based in the Palazzo dei Marescialli, in Piazza Indipendenza 6.
The institutions of constitutional importance of the Italian Republic are those institutions which are mentioned by the Constitution of Italy, but are not directly defined by it.
The constitutional institutions of Italy are institutions of the Italian Republic which are defined in the constitution.
