Clemente Mastella
A master of Italian political survival, he navigated the collapse of the old order by repeatedly reinventing his party affiliations over five decades.
Born 1947 (age 79)·Italian politician·Birthday: February 5·Baby Boomers
Biography
Clemente Mastella’s career is a map of Italy’s turbulent political landscape since the 1970s. He first entered parliament as a young Christian Democrat, part of the establishment that governed Italy for decades. When that system imploded in the 1990s amid corruption scandals, Mastella didn’t fade away. Instead, he became a quintessential figure of 'trasformismo,' founding and leading the small, centrist UDEUR party. This agility made him a frequent coalition partner and a minister in several governments, wielding influence disproportionate to his party's size. His resilience was tested by a personal judicial controversy that briefly forced him from office, but he later staged a comeback as the mayor of his hometown, Benevento, proving his deep-rooted local connections ultimately outlasted national political storms.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Clemente was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Clemente Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Clemente's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 79 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Founded and led the Union of Democrats for Europe (UDEUR), a pivotal centrist party in Italian coalition politics.
- Served as Minister of Labour and later as Minister of Justice in successive Italian governments.
- Elected Mayor of Benevento in 2016, marking a return to frontline politics after a period away.
- First elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1976 as a member of the dominant Christian Democracy party.
Did You Know?
His wife, Sandra Lonardo Mastella, is also a politician and served as a member of the European Parliament.
He is a trained lawyer, graduating from the University of Naples Federico II.
In 2008, he briefly resigned as Minister of Justice after his wife was placed under house arrest in a corruption investigation, though charges were later dropped.
“In politics, the only constant is the need for a reliable majority.”
