Senator Francesco Rutelli |
|
---|---|
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic | |
In office 22 April 2008 – 26 January 2010 |
|
Minister of Culture and Tourism and Deputy Prime Minister | |
In office 17 May 2006 – 8 May 2008 |
|
Preceded by | Rocco Buttiglione |
Succeeded by | Sandro Bondi |
61st Mayor of Rome | |
In office 5 December 1993 – May 2001 |
|
Preceded by | Franco Carraro |
Succeeded by | Walter Veltroni |
Member of the Chamber of deputies | |
In office 21 April 2006 – April 2008 |
|
Constituency | XV — Lazio 1 |
Personal details | |
Born | 14 June 1954 Rome, Italy |
Nationality | Italian |
Political party | Alliance for Italy |
Spouse(s) | Barbara Palombelli |
Francesco Rutelli, MP (born 14 June 1954) is an Italian politician and current President of Alliance for Italy.[1] He is a member of the Italian Senate, elected with the Democratic Party in 2008. He also chairs the "Centro per un Futuro Sostenibile" (Centre for a Sustainable Future - a bipartisan think tank on climate change and environmental issues).[2] He is co-president of the European Democratic Party, a centrist and progressive political group, today counting approximately 20 MEPs.[3] He has been Mayor of Rome 1994-2001,[4] and president of the centrist party Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy 2002-2007.[5] He was the Minister of Culture and Tourism in the cabinet of Prime Minister Romano Prodi 2006-2008.[6] In 2008 Rutelli ran unsuccessfully for a new term as Mayor of Rome after the resignation of Walter Veltroni.
Contents |
Born in Rome, he entered politics joining the Italian Radicals party, for which he was then elected secretary in 1980, aged 26. With the Italian Radicals, Rutelli championed humanitarian and libertarian policies such as unilateral disarmament, abolition of atomic power plants, conscientiuos objection to the compulsory National Service, eradication of world hunger, decriminalization of the use of cannabis. At those times the political action of Italian Radicals was self defined as inspired to Gandhian non violent movement.
First elected as deputy in 1983, confirming his office in 1987 and 1992, he then joined the Federation of the Greens in the late 1980s, becoming one of the party's leading figures, and embracing environmental campaigns.
He was then chosen as Ministry of Environment and Urban Areas in 1993, although he resigned after one day in the post. That same year, he was first elected Mayor of Rome as centre-left coalition candidate, defeating centre-right candidate Gianfranco Fini. Being reelected in 1997, with more than 60% of votes, he held the position until 2001.
He also served as European Deputy from 1999 to 2004. There he's been committed to promote initiatives for the abolition of death penalty,[7] freedom of information improvement [8] and against corruption.[9] From the mid-1990s onwards his views appeared increasingly moderate.
In 2001, he was defeated by Silvio Berlusconi in the general election as candidate premier for the centre-left Olive Tree coalition of parties. He was also one of the founders of the Democrats, which became part of Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Rutelli led the party until merged into the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007.
Francesco Rutelli's role in the Daisy — a party with strong ties with Italian Christian heritage — is considered by his opponents a singular upshot after a fairly erratic journey within Italian progressive politics, mainly because of his past social-libertarian and green experiences.
In 2006 he was named Minister of Welfare and Cultural Activities in the of cabinet of Romano Prodi during Prodi's second term as Italian Prime Minister.
In February 2008 he announced his intention to run again as mayor of Rome leading a local centre-left coalition, but lost the local elections on 28 April 2008 against centre-right Gianni Alemanno.
In October 2009 he announced his intention to leave the Democratic Party. After leaving the Democratic Party, he co-founded the Alliance for Italy (ApI), a centrist, liberal party which ran joint lists with the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC) / Union of the Centre (UdC) in most regions in the regional elections of March 2010. In December 2010, the ApI became a founding member of the new centre-right formation New Pole for Italy, and Rutelli became one of the new group's main leaders, along with UdC leader Pier Ferdinando Casini and Gianfranco Fini, the leader of the Future and Freedom party and former leader of the post-fascist Italian Social Movement and the national-conservative National Alliance.
Italian Chamber of Deputies | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Title jointly held |
Deputy 1983–1992 Legislatures: IX, X, XI |
Succeeded by Title jointly held |
Preceded by Title jointly held |
Deputy 2001–2008 Legislatures: XIV, XV |
Succeeded by Title jointly held |
Italian Senate | ||
Preceded by Title jointly held |
Senator since 2008 Legislatures: XVI |
Incumbent |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Franco Carraro |
Mayor of Rome 1993–2001 |
Succeeded by Walter Veltroni |
Preceded by Rocco Buttiglione |
Minister of Culture and Tourism 2006–2008 |
Succeeded by Sandro Bondi |
Preceded by Gianfranco Fini |
Deputy Prime Minister of Italy 2006–2008 Served alongside: Massimo D'Alema |
Vacant |
Preceded by Giulio Tremonti |
||
Preceded by Claudio Scajola |
President of COPASIR 2008–2010 |
Succeeded by Massimo D'Alema |
Party political offices | ||
New title | Alliance of Progressives candidate for Mayor of Rome 1993 |
Succeeded by Walter Veltroni |
The Olive Tree candidate for Mayor of Rome 1997 |
||
Preceded by Romano Prodi |
The Olive Tree candidate for Prime Minister of Italy 2001 |
Succeeded by Romano Prodi as The Union candidate for Prime Minister of Italy |
New title | President of Democracy Is Freedom – The Daisy 2001–2007 |
Succeeded by Walter Veltroni as Secretary of the Democratic Party |
Preceded by Walter Veltroni as The Olive Tree candidate for Mayor of Rome |
Democratic Party candidate for Mayor of Rome 2008 |
Incumbent |
New title | President of Alliance for Italy since 2009 |
Incumbent |
|