V o L u m e I : a d

with the United States, Britain, and other Western coun-

tries, forcing him to turn to the Soviet Union for assistance.

After expelling his Israeli advisors, Amin established cor-

dial contacts in the Arab world, particularly with Libya and

the Palestinians. In 1976 he conspired with Palestinian ter-

rorists to hijack an Air France jetliner to Tel Aviv, forcing

it to land in Entebbe, Uganda. Israeli commandos freed all

but one hostage, killing the terrorists and several Ugandan

soldiers.

As Amin’s murderous wave of terror continued,

Uganda’s economy and society lay in tatters. Yet as Uganda

slid further into chaos, Amin named himself field marshal

in 1975 and president-for-life in 1976. In October 1978 he

ordered an attack on Tanzania, which retaliated with an

invasion of Uganda in early 1979. Aided by Ugandan exiles,

Tanzanian forces advanced quickly, taking the capital city

of Kampala in April 1979. Amin fled first to Libya and then

to Jidda, Saudi Arabia, where he lived in exile and died on

16 August 2003.

Gregory C. Ference

See also

Entebbe Raid; Libya; Obote, Apollo Milton; Qadhafi, Muam-

mar; Tanzania; Uganda

References

Decalo, Samuel. Psychoses of Power: African Personal Dictatorships. Boulder, CO: West-

view, 1989.

Kyemba, Henry. A State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin. New York: Ace Books,

1977.

Italian journalist, politician, and premier. Born on 14 January 1919 in Rome,

as a youth Giulio Andreotti became active in the Catholic Students’ Federa-

tion headed by Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini (later Pope Paul VI).

In 1941 Andreotti received a law degree from Rome University and then

went to work as a journalist for the newspaper Il Popolo. During Italy’s fascist

era, he came to know future Italian Premier Alcide De Gasperi and would

later become one of his closest confidantes and collaborators.

Following the Allied liberation of Rome in June 1944, Andreotti was

named coordinator of Catholic youth and worked in the Christian Demo-

cratic Party with De Gasperi. In 1945 Andreotti was elected to the Constituent

Assembly and held elective office thereafter until 1987. From 1947 to 1953,

he served as premier undersecretary in four of De Gasperi’s governments.

Andreotti, Giulio

125

Dictator of Uganda from 1971 to 1979, Idi Amin headed 

a brutal and lawless regime, the violent effects of which

destabilized the East African republic for years. (Reuters/

Corbis)

Andreotti, Giulio

(1919–)

---

Andreotti enjoyed a brilliant political career, having

served as minister of the interior in 1954, of finance in 1955

and again in 1958, of treasury during 1958–1959, and then

of defense during 1959–1974. He was also minister of

industry in 1966 and 1968. In 1972 he became premier of

the Italian Republic, a position he occupied seven differ-

ent times. As Italy’s foreign minister from 1983 to 1989,

he forged closer ties to Eastern bloc countries and was in-

fluential in the fall of communism in Europe in the late

1980s.

On 1 June 1991, Andreotti was named senator for life,

but in 1995 he was accused of having had ties to the Italian

Mafia and of having planned the assassination of the jour-

nalist Mino Pecorelli. After several years and multiple trials,

Andreotti was ultimately acquitted.

An able politician and diplomat, Andreotti was consid-

ered one of Italy’s most powerful men. He maintained

Italy’s central role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-

tion (NATO) and brokered a deal for the deployment of

U.S. Pershing Missiles in Italy in the 1980s, despite public

protests. At the same time, he was also able to reach agree-

ments with Arab states and the Soviet Union. It was under his leadership

that Italy’s Fiat struck an economic deal with the Soviet Union. He also

maintained close ties with the Vatican during his tenure in office. In domes-

tic politics, he fought against the Italian Communist Party’s influence but

was also the man who brokered the so-called Historical Compromise, which

supported the government by not opposing the seating of communists after

the 1976 elections.

Andreotti was not just the most dynamic Italian politician of the postwar

years but was also probably the most influential one during the Cold War era.

To this day, he is still highly regarded by many Italians. Throughout his tire-

less political career, he found the time to write several books about his polit-

ical experiences and about the people he knew. As a journalist, he headed

the Catholic magazine Concretezze from 1955 to 1976 and currently edits the

magazine 30 Giorni.

Alessandro Massignani

See also

De Gasperi, Alcide; Europe, Eastern; Europe, Western; Italy; Missiles, Pershing II;

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Origins and Formation of

References

Galli, Giorgio. Il Prezzo della Democrazia: La Carriera Politica di Giulio Andreotti.

Milan: Kaos, 2003.

Ginsberg, Paul. A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics, 1943–1988. New

York: Penguin, 1990.

Pallotta, Gino. Giulio Andreotti: Il Richelieu della Politica Italiana. Rome: Newton

Compton, 1988.

126

Andreotti, Giulio

Italian political leader Giulio Andreotti, shown here in

May 1979. (Gianni Giansanti/Sygma/Corbis)

---