Marco Pannella, founder and leader of Italy's Radical Party, entered into a long series of battles for the recognition of civil and political rights in Italy, starting in the 1970s, with the referendum on divorce and abortion. His campaigns and fights contributed to making Italy less bigoted and conformist, as well as more liberal and libertarian. He was one of Italy's longest-standing dominant politicians and one of the first European federalists who fought for the creation of the European Union. Pannella, who was suffering from cancer, led a life that will forever be remembered in Italy.