'Gallo': commander in Spain and the Resistance, PCI secretary-general who endured Cominform self-criticism and succeeded Togliatti
When he succeeded Togliatti as PCI secretary-general in 1964, Longo declared: 'I am a secretary, not a boss.'
A founder of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) at the 1921 Livorno Congress, Longo fought as inspector-general of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War under the nom de guerre 'Gallo.' During World War II he commanded the communist Garibaldi Brigades in the Italian Resistance and afterwards served as PCI deputy secretary under Palmiro Togliatti. In September 1947 he attended the founding Cominform conference at Szklarska Poręba as the PCI's delegate alongside Eugenio Reale, where the PCI and the French Communist Party were subjected to harsh criticism and forced into a self-critical turn toward militant struggle. Succeeding Togliatti as secretary-general in 1964, Longo pursued the 'Italian road to socialism' with growing autonomy from Moscow and formally opposed the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Career Timeline
- 1921Co-founder of the PCI at the Livorno Congress
- 1936–1939Inspector-General of the International Brigades in Spain, nom de guerre 'Gallo'
- 1943–1945Commander of the Garibaldi Brigades, Deputy Commander of the CVL
- 1945–1964Deputy Secretary of the PCI
- 1947.09PCI delegate to the Cominform founding conference (Szklarska Poręba)
- 1964–1972Secretary-General of the PCI
- 1972–1980Honorary President of the PCI