Andreotti, Giulio [key], 1919–2013, Italian political leader. A leading member of the Christian Democratic party, Andreotti held a variety of ministerial posts throughout the 1950s and 60s and first served as premier in 1972–73. He subsequently held the premiership again (1976–79), was minister for foreign affairs (1983–89), and served for a third period as premier (1989–91). In 1993 he was investigated for corruption and accused of protecting the Mafia. Indicted in 1995, he also went to trial in 1996 for ordering the murder of a journalist said to have incriminating information. He was acquitted of both sets of charges in 1999. While Andreotti undoubtedly played an important role in transforming Italy from a defeated and poverty-ridden postwar nation into a wealthy and industrialized modern European power, he also helped to create a system of cronyism that led to widespread Italian corruption.
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