De Martino was born on 31 May 1907 in
Naples,
Italy. He graduated from the law school Federico II in Naples, and, under the guidance of
Enrico De Nicola, embarked on the study of law and economics and became a distinguished scholar of
Roman law. Emeritus Professor of law at the law school Federico II in Naples, he published several tomes, among which, the History of the Roman Constitution (in six tomes, which was compared for his monumental significance to the "Staatsrecht" by
Theodor Mommsen) and the Economic History of Ancient Rome; his publications were translated in English, Spanish, German, French and Chinese. He first joined the
Action Party (an anti-fascist political party) in 1943, and then joined the reconstituted Socialist Party in 1945. At the first elections of the new Italian Republic in 1948, he was elected to Parliament with the Popular Front alliance of communists and socialists. He soon won the confidence of party leader
Pietro Nenni, to whom he became vice secretary. In 1959, Nenni would entrust De Mortino with leading the socialist magazine
Mondoperaio. De Martino served as
Deputy Prime Minister during the
Rumor I,
Rumor III, and
Colombo governments. De Martino was twice the PSI's candidate for the presidential elections, in 1971 and 1978. This time, however, the more popular socialist, the former Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies,
Sandro Pertini was elected. De Martino's candidacy was tarnished when the family paid a 1bn lire ransom for his release, his son
Guido, who was kidnapped by the
Camorra for 40 days. He was dismayed by the demise of the historical socialist party after the corruption under Craxi. He resumed his academic career at the law school Federico II, where his secular funeral was celebrated in the presence of the President of Italy,
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. De Martino died in Naples on 18 November 2002. He is survived by his children, Armando,
Guido, Antonino, Elisa and Laura. ==Electoral history==