David DiMeglio

Vincenzo David Di Meglio, sometimes called David DiMeglio (1903-1987), was an Italian doctor who worked in the Africa Orientale Italiana in the late thirties and during World War II, and an Italian Eritrean politician who saved Eritrea from being divided in 1947 between Sudan and Ethiopia.

Di Meglio was born on the island of Ischia (near Naples, Italy) in April 1903. As a young man he participated in politics and became mayor of his hometown in the twenties. He graduated as a medical doctor and in 1935 moved to the Italian colonies in East Africa, where he worked as a general practitioner, initially helping the poorest Africans.

In 1939 he was asked by the governor of Eritrea, Giuseppe Daodice, to work in Asmara in the "Regina Elena" Hospital as Vice-Director of Gynecology.

In 1940 a group of Italian doctors under the leadership of Dr. Vincenzo Di Meglio promoted the creation of university studies in Asmara and in 1941 they created the "Scuola di Medicina" (using a section of the Liceo Martini), linked to the Asmara Hospital (then named "Regina Elena"). It was the first university institution of Eritrea and aimed at the preparation of students for the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Rome.Silvia Nocchi

During World War II Di Meglio was politically active in defence of the Italians of Eritrea and successively promoted the independence of Eritrea.

After the war he was named Director of the "Commitato Rappresentativo Italiani dell' Eritrea" (CRIE). In 1947 supported the creation of the "Associazione Italo-Eritrei" and the "Associazione Veterani Ascari", in order to get alliance with the Eritreans favorable to Italy in Eritrea.

As a result of these creations, he cofounded the "Partito Eritrea Pro Italia" (Party of Shara Italy) in September 1947, an Eritrean political Party favorable to the Italian presence in Eritrea that obtained more than 200,000 inscriptions of membership in one single month.

Indeed the Italian Eritreans strongly rejected the Ethiopian annexation of Eritrea after the war: the Party of Shara Italy was established in Asmara in 1947 and the majority of its members were former Italian soldiers with many Eritrean Ascari (the organization was even backed up by the government of Italy). The main objective of this party was Eritrea freedom but they had a pre-condition that stated that, before independence, the country should be governed by Italy for at least 15 years (like happened with Italian Somalia).

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