Mario Segni

Prior to his political career Segni studied law at the University of Sassari. Following his graduation he would move to Padau where he would work under Luigi Carraro, a four-time Christian Democrat Senator, and teach at university.[1][2] In 1975 he would become a professor of civil law at the University of Sassari.[3] He would go on to become the chair of the Faculty of Law there, while being an active politician, until his retirement in 2011.

A long-time member of Christian Democracy, like his father, he was first elected Regional Councillor in 1967. Shortly after gaining his position at the University, Segni would run for the national parliament in 1976.[4] He would come in second place behind Francesco Cossiga with 85,736 votes.[4] He served as undersecretary for Agriculture in the second Craxi government and in the sixth Fanfani government.[5] He was also chairman of the Control Committee for Information and Security Services and for State Secrecy from 1987 to 1991.

Riding the momentum from the 1991 Italian electoral law referendum, which he supported, Segni would contribute to the establishment of the Democratic Alliance in 1992.[6][3] He would also found the Populars for Reform that same year, with the goal of electoral reform; transitioning from proportional representation to a first-past-the-post system. In 1993 Segni would finally break from the Christian Democrats who were suffering from tangentopoli. During this time he would found the Segni Pact in March 1994 from the remains of the previous Democratic Alliance and Populars for Reform.[1][3] Segni had hoped to capitalize on the political vacuum left by the now tainted Christian Democrats.[7]

Patto Segni logo (1994)

He was a candidate for Prime Minister for the centrist alliance Pact for Italy (composed of the Italian People's Party and Segni Pact) in 1994, and as an MEP from 1994 to 1995 which he won.[3] The party as a whole, however, did not have much initial success and joined the Anti-Berlusconi coalition during the first Berlusconi government.[8] By the 1996 elections Segni decided to return to teaching. His party would go on to join with the Italian Renewal List.

In 1999 Mario Segni returned to the political scene, attempting to abolish proportional quotas via referendum. Despite is failure to do so, in the 1999 European election he was elected MEP on a Segni Pact – National Alliance list, a coalition also known as the 'elephant.'[9] While serving in the European Parliament he would vote alongside the European People's Party. During his tenure, he would also serve on the Committee of Constitutional Affairs, and several delegations pertaining to EU-Latin America relations.[10]

In 2003 he refounded the Segni Pact, naming it the Pact of Liberal Democrats, and would continue to criticize the Berlusconi camp. This would culminate in his siding 'no' on the 2006 Constitutional Referendum.[1]

In early 2007 he became Coordinator of the Promoting Committee of the Electoral Referendum, led by Giovanni Guzzetta. This would place Segni alongside politicians such as Gianni Alemanno, Angelino Alfano, Mercedes Bresso, Riccardo Illy, Renato Brunetta, Antonio Martino, Giovanna Melandri, Arturo Parisi, Daniele Capezzone, Stefania Prestigiacomo, Gaetano Quagliariello, and Giorgio Tonini in the fight for a majority based electoral system. On July 24 of 2007 Segni handed over 800,000 signatures to the Court of Cassation for the presentation of the Electoral Referendum.[1] The referendum, which took place on 21–22 June 2009, but did not reach the required quorum.[11]

He has since left politics but continuous to provide commentary on it.[12] Even in 2018, he continuous to be interviewed on the developments of Italian politics as shown here where he lists his opinions on the developments regarding the Northern League and the 5 Star Movement.[13]

Mario Segni is also the current president of the Antonio Segni Foundation, which seeks to put all his father's work online.[14]

• Mario Segni appeared in the documentary television series La notte della Repubblica January 3, 1990.[18][19]
• In 1993 Segni appeared on Maurizio Costanzo's talk show.[20][19]
• In 2005 the TV series 1992 directed by Giuseppe Gagliardi included Massimo Wertmüller in the role of Mario Segni.[21]

• Primo Di Nicola wrote a biography of Mario Segni in 1992.[22]
• Mario Segni published La Rivoluzione Interrotta in 1994, this book discussed his attempted 'revolution' within Italian politics.[23]
• In 1999 Mario Segni wrote Il referendum che cambierà l'Italia.[24]
• in 2010 Mario Segni wrote Niente di personale. Solo cambiare l'Italia.[25]