Ciro Cirillo

Ciro Cirillo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃiːro tʃiˈrillo]; 15 February 1921 – 30 July 2017) was an Italian politician and member of the Christian Democracy (DC) political party. He served as the president of the province of Naples from 1969 to 1975 and the president of Campania from 1979 until 1980. Cirillo oversaw reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the 1980 Irpinia earthquake, which struck the region on 23 November 1980.

In 1981, Cirillo was kidnapped by the Red Brigades (BR), an Italian paramilitary group, in a case that garnered worldwide attention. He was released on 25 July 1981, following 89 days in captivity and a ransom payment of 1.45 billion lire. The ransom was a controversial deal with the Camorra; they did not negotiate with the BR and only asked them to release him. This happened several years after the Italian state had refused to negotiate with the BR in their kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro, leading observers and critics to wonder what changed and the reasons behind the state's negotiation.