Mayor of Bologna

Mayor of Bologna
Incumbent Virginio Merola since Since 16 May 2011
Residence	Palazzo d'Accursio
Appointer	Popular election
Term length	5 years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Luigi Pizzari
Formation	April 6, 1860
Succession	May–June 2016
Deputy	Sergio Porena
Salary	€114,960
Website	Official website

The Mayor of Bologna is an elected politician who, along with the Bologna’s City Council, is accountable for the strategic government of Bologna. Since May 16, 2011, Virginio Merola is the current mayor of Bologna.

This is a list of mayors of Bologna, Italy.

List of Mayors of Bologna

Kingdom of Italy (1860-1946)

In 1860 the nascent Kingdom of Italy created the office of the Mayor of Bologna (Sindaco di Bologna), chosen by the City council. In 1926, the Fascist dictatorship abolished mayors and City councils, replacing them with an authoritarian Podestà chosen by the National Fascist Party.

Republic of Italy (1946-present)

From 1945 to 1995, the Mayor of Bologna was chosen by the City council. Since 1995, under provisions of new local administration law (1993), the Mayor of Bologna is chosen by popular election, originally every four years, and since 1999 every five years.

	Mayor of Bologna		Took office	Left office	Party	Coalition
1		Giuseppe Dozza	7 April 1946	2 April 1966	Italian Communist Party		PCI 7 April 1946 – 2 April 1966
2		Guido Fanti	2 April 1966	29 July 1970	Italian Communist Party		PCI 2 April 1966 – 29 July 1970
3		Renato Zangheri	29 July 1970	29 April 1983	Italian Communist Party		PCI 29 July 1970 – 29 April 1983
4		Renzo Imbeni	29 April 1983	27 February 1993	Italian Communist Party		PCI 29 April 1983 – 27 February 1993
Elected mayors (1993-present)
5		Walter Vitali	27 February 1993	27 June 1999	Democratic Party of the Left then Democrats of the Left		PDS - FdV 27 February 1993 – 27 June 1999
6		Giorgio Guazzaloca	27 June 1999	14 June 2004	Your Bologna		TB - FI - AN 27 June 1999 – 14 June 2004
7		Sergio Cofferati	14 June 2004	22 June 2009	Democrats of the Left then Democratic Party		The Olive Tree 14 June 2004 – 22 June 2009
8		Flavio Delbono	22 June 2009	16 May 2011[1]	Democratic Party		PD - IdV - FdS - Greens 22 June 2009 – 16 May 2011
9		Virginio Merola	16 May 2011	Incumbent	Democratic Party		PD - SEL - IdV 16 May 2011 – Incumbent

Timeline

Elections

Mayoral and Council election, 2004

The election took place on June 12–13, 2004.

The main candidates were the trade uniononist Sergio Cofferati, supported by Romano Prodi's The Olive Tree, and the incumbent mayor Giorgio Guazzaloca, supported by some center-right civic lists.

Mayoral and Council election, 2009

The election took place in two rounds: the first on June 6–7 and the second on June 21–22, 2009.

The main candidates were the university teacher Flavio Delbono, from the Democratic Party, and Alfredo Cazzola.

Mayoral and Council election, 2011

The election took place on May 15–16, 2011.

The election took place before the end of the legislature because the incumbent mayor Flavio Delbono, who was under investigation because of the Cinziagate scandal, resigned.

For 15 months, Bologna was governed under a special commissioner (Anna Maria Cancelleri), an exceptional event in post-war Italian politics.

On May 16, Virginio Merola of the Democratic Party won the election at the first round, defeating the Lega Nord candidate, Manes Bernardini. The turnout was just 71%, a decrease compared to 2009 and 2004 elections. Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement took nearly 10% of the votes.

References