Gianfranco Miglio; Italian Senator, Avid Federalist

Gianfranco Miglio, considered the ideological founder of Italy’s autonomy-minded Northern League party, has died. He was 83.

Miglio died Friday at his home in Como of complications from a stroke he suffered last year.

While presiding over the Catholic University of Milan’s political science department for 30 years, Miglio became a staunch supporter of federalism for Italy. He believed that the nation should be divided into three autonomous “macro-regions,” representing the northern, central and southern areas of the country.

In the early 1990s, maverick politician Umberto Bossi applied Miglio’s federalist ideas to his new party, the Northern League, calling for the creation of “Padania,” a separate region in northern Italy.

The Northern League was part of the winning conservative coalition that brought Premier Silvio Berlusconi to power in the May 13 elections this year. Bossi is now minister in charge of reform and delegating government authority to more local levels.

Miglio was elected Northern League senator from Como in 1992, although he split with Bossi over ideological differences two years later. Miglio remained a senator until May, the ANSA news agency reported.

In a statement Saturday, Berlusconi said Miglio would leave a valuable mark on Italian politics and academics.