Camilla Ravera

Camilla Ravera (18 June 1889 – 14 April 1988) was an Italian politician and the first female lifetime senator. She was also among the driving forces behind Italian feminism.

Ravera participated in the founding of the Italian Communist Party in 1921. She was General Secretary of the party from 1927 until 1930 following the arrest of Antonio Gramsci.

Ravera attended various congresses of Comintern, meeting both Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in person. She was arrested in 1930 and was sentenced to 15 years. After her arrest, she was succeeded as General Secretary by Palmiro Togliatti. Along with Umberto Terracini, she was expelled from the Italian Communist Party for opposing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 and was not allowed to rejoin until 1945.