Giovanni Leone

Giovanni Leone (1908 to 2001) was an Italian politician, jurist and university professor who served as President of Italy from 1971 to 1978. A founding member of the Christian Democracy party, he held the premiership twice for short spells, from June to December 1963 and again from June to December 1968, and he presided over the Chamber of Deputies from 1955 to 1963. His presidency ended early: in 1978 he was accused of bribery amid the Lockheed bribery scandals, and he became the first Italian president to resign because of a scandal. The allegations were later declared false and he was rehabilitated. Leone's career is a useful case for readers studying how the Italian republic's parliamentary system moved a single figure between the legislature, the cabinet and the largely ceremonial presidency, and how a scandal could end a presidential term outside any constitutional deadline.