[8] In 1929, he graduated in law from the prestigious University of Naples Federico II, with the thesis "Violation of family care obligations", which was even published in 1931.

After graduation, he started working in the law firm of Enrico De Nicola, also becoming a professor of criminal procedure at the University of Camerino.

In the aftermath of September 1943 armistice, during the dramatic days of the Nazi occupation, he worked effectively for the release of numerous political prisoners and deserters, thus removing them from possible reprisals.

[21] Even as a deputy, he continued working as a lawyer and teaching at the university, considering for a long time these occupations as priority aspects of his life.

He remained substantially foreign to the large and small factions in which the DC quickly split up, although he could be considered close to the party's conservative wing.

[23] As president, he demonstrated, in addition to a strong sense of the institutions and a scrupulous respect for the rules of democratic confrontation, a remarkable ability to govern parliamentary dynamics, also mastered through that undeniable presence of spirit, contributed in making him a well-known figure in the public opinion.

[24] In the 1963 general election, the Christian Democrats lost almost one million votes, gaining nearly 38%, while the Italian Communist Party (PCI) arrived second with 25%.

[25] However the Italian Liberal Party (PLI) surged to 7%, their best results ever, receiving many votes from former Christian Democratic supporters, who were against Amintore Fanfani's centre-left policies.

With the decline of electoral support, on 22 June 1963, the majority of DC members decided to replace Fanfani with a provisional government led by Leone.

However, a few months after the end of his premiership, he became the head of SADE's team of lawyers, who significantly reduced the amount of compensation for the survivors and ruled out payment for at least 600 victims.

[36] In August 1964, President Antonio Segni suffered a serious cerebral hemorrhage while he was working at the presidential palace; he only partially recovered and decided to resign.

[41] In November 1968, the Parliament approved a law that introduced a special benefit for full unemployment for workers in the industrial sector, in cases of total or partial closing down of enterprises or large-scale dismissals, equalling two-thirds of previous monthly earnings for 180 days.

[44] Fanfani retired after several unsuccessful ballots and, at the twenty-second round, Leone was selected as the Christian democratic candidate for the presidency, being slightly preferred to Aldo Moro.

At the twenty third round he was finally elected with a centre-right majority, with 518 votes out of 996, including those of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI).

[50] After Andreotti's resignation in July 1973, Leone gave to Mariano Rumor the task of forming a new centre-left cabinet,[51] which however lasted only a year, when, in November, Aldo Moro became once again prime minister.

[52] During Moro's two-years rule, the DC tried to open a dialogue with the PCI of Enrico Berlinguer, in a political phase known as Historic Compromise, with the aim of bringing the communists into the government's majority.

On the morning of 16 March 1978, the day on which the new Andreotti cabinet was supposed to have undergone a confidence vote in the Italian Parliament, the car of Aldo Moro, then-president of the Christian Democracy, was assaulted by a group of Red Brigades (BR) in Via Fani in Rome.

Moreover, through writings and interviews, as well as judgments, he also had the opportunity to reaffirm and stress the correctness of his acts as president of the Italian Republic and the unreliability of the accusations moved against him and his family.