Rocco Buttiglione Author

Rocco Buttiglione is currently the John Paul II Professor of Philosophy and History of European Institutions at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He studied Law at the Universities of Turin and Rome, where he wrote a dissertation on the History of Political Doctrines (1970). He subsequently pursued studies abroad before teaching at the Universities of Rome and Urbino. Beginning in 1978, Buttiglione developed a keen interest in Polish culture and the philosophical personalism of the Lublin school, especially as represented by Karol Wojtyla. This led to groundbreaking books (1982) on Wojtyla’s philosophy (Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man Who Became Pope John Paul II) and the new philosophy of human labor underlying the Encyclical Laborem Exercens. In addition to his numerous books and articles, Buttiglione has helped establish several institutes across to globe and has lectured at many universities. He has served as chair of political philosophy and political science at Teramo University and the S. Pio V University in Rome, as a member of the Italian Parliament since 1994, as Minister for European Affairs (2001–2005), Minister of Culture (2006), and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies (until 2013).