Colombo, Emilio [key], 1920–2013, Italian political leader. He was elected a member of the constituent assembly in 1946 and a parliamentary deputy for the Christian Democratic party in 1948. A member of the group that wrote the post-World War II constitution, which ended the monarchy and established a republic, he subsequently helped initiate some of Italy's other postwar reforms, including land redistribution, nationalization of electrical utilities, and a program of government aid for the development of the impoverished south, during a lengthy tenure in associate cabinet posts. Colombo also is credited with having written much of the Treaty of Rome, which established (1958) the European Economic Community (Common Market; now the European Union). After serving as minister of the treasury from 1963 to 1970, he became premier in Aug., 1970. His coalition government fell in Jan., 1972, but subsequently he held additional cabinet posts, including the ministries of finance, of the treasury, of foreign affairs, and of the budget and economic planning. Colombo was president of the European Parliament from 1977 to 1979, and was appointed senator for life in Italy in 2003.
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