- Antonio Martino
Infobox Prime Minister
honorific-prefix = Onorevole
name = Antonio Martino
order = Minister of Defense
term_start =June 11 ,2001
term_end =May 17 ,2006
predecessor =Sergio Mattarella
successor =Arturo Parisi
primeminister =Silvio Berlusconi
order2 = Minister of Foreign Affairs
term_start2 =May 10 ,1994
term_end2 =January 17 ,1995
predecessor2 =Leopoldo Elia
successor2 =Susanna Agnelli
primeminister2 =Silvio Berlusconi
birth_date = birth date and age|1942|12|22
birth_place =Messina ,Italy
nationality = Italian
profession =Politician
University Professor
spouse =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
religion = Roman Catholic
party =Forza Italia Antonio Martino (born
December 22 ,1942 inMessina ) is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member ofForza Italia , holding party card no. 2.Career
Born at
Messina , he is the son ofGaetano Martino , former Foreign Minister and prominent member of the late Italian Liberal Party (PLI). In mid-the 1980s he was unsuccessful candidate for the post of PLI secretary. A member of theItalian Parliament , he was first elected in 1994, re-elected in 1996 and 2001.Since 1992, Martino is a professor of
Economics , in thePolitical Science Department at the LUISS University ofRome (currently on Parliamentary leave); he is author of 11 books and over 150 papers and articles on economic theory and policy. He has been a frequent contributor to Italian and international magazines and newspapers, as well as Italian and international television and radio programs.In 1988-90, Martino was President of the
Mont Pelerin Society , an international society of classical liberals, founded in 1947 by Nobel Prize WinnerFriedrich A. Hayek .In 2003, Martino was involved in the forging of a claim that Iraq had aquired urianium from Niger included in a document issued by Number 10 Downing Street titled, "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction: The assessment of the British Government". This document subsequently was quoted by President of USA George Bush when he uttered 16 words that have since come back to haunt him: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."cite web | last = Rivero | first = Michael | authorlink = Michael Rivero | title = Niger-Gate: The Scandal Behind The Scandal | month = September | year = 2008 | url = http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/niger-gate.html ]
Notes and references
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