Giovanni Maria Flick

Giovanni Maria Flick (born 7 November 1940) is an Italian journalist, politician, and jurist.

Giovanni Maria Flick
Minister of Justice
In office 17 May 1996 – 21 October 1998
Prime Minister	Romano Prodi
Preceded by	Vincenzo Caianiello
Succeeded by	Oliviero Diliberto
President of the Constitutional Court
In office 14 November 2008 – 18 February 2009
Preceded by	Franco Bile
Succeeded by	Francesco Amirante
Judge of the Constitutional Court
In office 18 February 2000 – 18 February 2009
Appointed by	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Preceded by	Giuliano Vassalli
Succeeded by	Paolo Grossi
Personal details
Born	(1940-11-07) 7 November 1940 Cirié, Italy
Political party	Democratic Centre (2013–present)
Other political affiliations	Independent (1996–2013)
Alma mater	Catholic University of Milan
Profession	Jurist

Career

Flick was born in Cirié, Piedmont, to a Catholic, half-ethnic German family, as the fifth of seven children.

He began his education at the Jesuit liceo, and gained a diploma in law at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. He then practiced (1964–1975) at the Rome tribunal, as a judge, then as a prosecutor, was a professor at the University of Perugia, the University of Messina, and, from 1980, the LUISS University of Rome, and also started a career as a lawyer. He contributed editorials to Il Sole 24 Ore and La Stampa.

He was Minister of Justice in Romano Prodi's cabinet in 1996–1998, and presented the Italian Parliament with projects of organic laws meant to implement major judicial reforms which were almost entirely adopted by 1999 (including laws that made sentencing easier for misdemeanors). His experience as Minister got him named Italian representative to the European Commission of Human Rights, during the second Massimo D'Alema cabinet. In 2000, he was chosen by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi to the office of judge in the Constitutional Court of Italy.