Sixty years have passed since the death of Enrico Mattei, the man who pursued Italian energy independence and Sergio Mattarella remembers his figure.

"Enrico Mattei died sixty years ago in a plane crash which bears the shadow of a criminal attack. Mattei was a protagonist in the construction of the Republic".

Thus the President of the Republic, in a note.

"Component of the General Command of the Volunteer Corps of Freedom, he paraded in Milan with the other commanders at the head of the procession that celebrated, on May 6, 1945, the liberation of the city from the Nazi-fascist forces", continues Mattarella, recalling that "he was a man of the institutions, elected Member of the Parliament of democratic Italy ". 

The Head of State underlines that "Mattei made his experience as an industrial manager available, giving impetus to reconstruction with a strength and leadership capacity that made him a symbol of the country's post-war recovery in production. 

His vision made the group, which had been entrusted to him to liquidate it, an important tool for the progress

of the country and for defining a new structure in international relations,

overcoming any neo-colonial temptation

and aiming at equal dignity among the various actors, promoting and supporting the peoples' demands for liberation ".

"Italy and Eni thus became interpreters of a constructive attitude of

support for the decolonization process underway

, as in the case of Algeria, for fair agreements in the mutual interest.

The idea of ​​collaboration, of which Enrico Mattei was bearer on the international level, has brought great benefits to Italy and, at the same time, has helped to allow oil and gas producing countries to escape the condition of minority in which they found themselves

", continues Mattarella, observing that" his action it contributed to placing Italy at the crossroads of peace and development cooperation dialogues.  

He courageously continued in his work, while knowing well which powers and which interests were against him.

The example of him and the figure of him - concludes the head of the state - fully belong to the ranks of the

builders of the Republic

".