more than 43,000 votes. From May 1948 to July 1951, he was appointed undersecretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests in the 5th and 6th governments of Alcide De Gasperi. During these years, Colombo was carried on a successful mediation in Calabria, in 1949, during clashes for the occupations of the lands by peasants. He also collaborated with minister Antonio Segni in the approving of the agrarian reform. The land reform, approved by the Parliament in October 1950, was financed in part by the funds of the Marshall Plan launched by the United States in 1947 and considered by some scholars as the most important reform of the entire post-war period. The reform proposed, through forced expropriation, the distribution of land to agricultural laborers, thus making them small entrepreneurs and no longer subject to the large landowner. If in some ways the reform had this beneficial result, for others it significantly reduced the size of farms, effectively removing any possibility of transforming them into advanced businesses. However, this negative element was mitigated and in some cases eliminated by forms of cooperation. Prime Minister of Italy A number of progressive reforms were introduced during Colombo's time as prime minister. A housing reform law of 22 October 1971 introduced new criteria for land expropriations and provisions for urban renewals. Under a law of 6 December 1971, state funds were made available for the construction of a kindergarten in every local authority. A law of 30 December 1971 introduced new regulations covering protection of female workers and maternity insurance. The duration of maternity leave was extended two months prior to, and two months after confinement for all employees, and all female workers were entitled to an earnings-related indemnity, equal to 80% of earnings (including agricultural workers and tenant farmers). Also introduced was an entitlement to voluntary extra period of leave for six months during the first year of the child's life, with job security and an indemnity equal to 30% of earnings, together with an entitlement to paid absences due to the child's sickness during the first three years if the child's life. In addition, a special natality allowance was introduced for self-employed women in the agricultural, artisan, and commercial sectors. Later he became president of the European Parliament (occupying that office from 1977 until 1979) and foreign minister of Italy (from 1980 until 1983, and again from 1992 until 1993). In