Antonio Martino was born in Messina, Italy in 1942. He obtained a degree in Jurisprudence, and specialised in Economics at The University of Chicago, where he was a student of Milton Friedman.

A professor since 1976, he has held chairs at the universities of Messina, Bari, Naples and at Rome's La Sapienza. Since 1992, he has been a full-time professor of Political Economy at the LUISS University Guido Carli of Rome. He has also served as president of the Mont Pélerin Society. In 1990, he was elected as a Member of the Italian Parliament, and re-elected in 1996 and 2001. He was Foreign Affairs Minister in the first Berlusconi government in 1994, and is presently the Italian Minister of Defence. Martino is author of over 150 works of economic theory. Among his most recent books ^[*] are:

• Friedman, Giunti, Teramo, 1994.

• The Market Economy, Foundation of Political Freedoms, Borla, Rome, 1994.

• Economy and Freedom, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli, 1996.

• The Tyrant State, Sperling, Milan, 1997.

Martino has been an editorial writer for many Italian dailies (La Stampa, Il Sole 24 Ore, Mondo economico, L'Opinione, Il Giornale, and more recently Quotidiano Nazionale Nazione-Giorno-Carlino). His bi-line also appears in many international dailies such as the Wall Street Journal, The Times, Le Figaro, Neue Zurcher Zeitung, The American Spectator, Economic Affairs and many more.

^[*] The titles of these Italian books have been translated here into English