Enrico Letta (pronounced [enˌriːko
ˈlɛtːa]; born 20 August 1966) is an
Italian
politician who has been the
Prime Minister of Italy since 2013. He is also the
Deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party, and a
Member of the Chamber of Deputies.[1]
He was previously the
Minister of European Affairs from 1998 to 1999 and the
Minister of Industry from 1999 to 2001. He also served as
Secretary to the Council of Ministers from 2006 to 2008.
Early life and education
Enrico Letta was born in
Pisa,
Tuscany to Anna Banchi from
Sassari, Sardinia and Giorgio Letta from
Abruzzo. He spent some early years in
Strasbourg.[2]
He holds a PhD in International Law from
Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. His father was a
professor of
probability at the
University of Pisa, a member of the
Accademia dei Lincei and of the
Accademia nazionale delle scienze.
He is known to be fond of listening to
Dire Straits and playing
Subbuteo[3]
Political
career
As a young member of the
Christian Democracy (DC), Letta was the President of the
Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP) between 1991 and
1995. Having joined the
Italian People's Party in 1994, he went on to become the
party's Deputy Secretary in 1997 and, at 32, he was appointed to
the
Cabinet as
Minister of European Affairs under
Prime Minister
Massimo D'Alema in 1998. In 1999, he was moved to become
Minister of Industry. He was subsequently elected to the
Chamber of Deputies in the
2001 for
The Daisy (DL).[4][5]
In 2004, he left the
Italian Parliament to be elected as a
Member of the European Parliament for
North East Italy, where he sat in the Group of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and was
a member of the
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.[6]
In 2006, he resigned as an MEP an returned to the Chamber of
Deputies in order to become Secretary to the Council of
Ministers to the
Prodi Government, succeeding his uncle
Gianni Letta.
Having helped found the
Democratic Party (PD) in 2007, Letta stood in the subsequent
leadership election, where he came third with 11% of the
vote.[7]
A year later, his uncle succeeded him as Secretary to the
Council of Ministers, after the return to power of
Silvio Berlusconi.[8]
During the
2009 leadership election, he supported the eventual winner,
Pier Luigi Bersani, and on 7 November 2009 he was elected
Deputy Secretary.[9]
Prime
Minister of Italy
On 24 April 2013, Letta was invited to form a government by
President
Giorgio Napolitano, after the resignation of
Pier Luigi Bersani following weeks of political deadlock
after the
2013 general election.[10]
On 27 April, Letta formally accepted the task of leading a
grand coalition, with support from his party, the right-wing
People of Freedom, and the centrist
Civic Choice. He subsequently issued a list of the members
of
his Cabinet. The government he formed became the first in
the
history of the Republic to include representatives of both
major coalitions that were opposed before the election. Notably,
Letta appointed
Angelino Alfano, a People of Freedom politician, as his
Deputy Prime Minister. Letta was formally sworn-in as
Prime Minister on 28 April; during the ceremony, a man fired
shots outside
Palazzo Chigi and wounded two
Carabinieri.[11]
Other work
Letta is the secretary general of the think tank Agenzia di
Ricerche e Legislazione (AREL), founded by
Beniamino Andreatta. He himself founded the associations
Trecentosessanta and VeDrò.[12]
Letta is a member of the European committee of the
Trilateral Commission[13]
and of the executive committee of the
Aspen Institute Italia.[14]
Personal life
He is married to Gianna Fregonara and they have three
children,[15]
Giacomo, Lorenzo and Francesco Letta.
References
-
^ Italian
Parliament Website
LETTA Enrico – PD Retrieved 24 April 2013
-
^
Winfield, Nicole
(2013-04-24).
"Enrico Letta Appointed Italian Prime Minister, Asked To
Form Government".
The Huffington Post.
Retrieved 2013-05-04.
-
^
Kington, Tom (24 Apr 2013).
"Enrico Letta to become youngest Italian prime minister
in 25 years".
The Daily Telegraph.
Retrieved 2013-05-04.
-
^
Sacchelli, Orlando (24 April
2013).
"Enrico Letta, il giovane Dc che deve far da paciere tra
Pd e Pdl".
il Giornale (in Italian).
-
^
"Pisano, milanista, baby-ministro. Ecco chi è Enrico
Letta, l'eterno "giovane" del Pd".
Libero (in Italian). 24 April 2013.
-
^
"European Parliament Website". Europarl.europa.eu.
Retrieved 2013-05-07.
-
^
"Veltroni stravince con il 76% ma è la festa dei
cittadini elettori".
la Repubblica (in Italian). 14 October 2007.
-
^
"La nostra battaglia per l’abolizione dei vitalizi".
Enrico Letta.
Retrieved 26 April 2013.
-
^
"Pd, Bersani indica la rotta "Noi, partito
dell'alternativa"".
Quotidiano.net (in Italian). 9 September 2009.
Retrieved 26 April 2013.
-
^
Frye, Andrew (24 April
2013).
"Letta Named Italian Prime Minister as Impasse Ends".
Bloomberg.
Retrieved 26 April 2013.
-
^
"New Italian 'grand coalition' government sworn in".
BBC News. 28 April 2013.
Retrieved 28 April 2013.
-
^
"Noi". Associazione Trecento Sessanta.
Retrieved 10 March 2010.
-
^
"Trilateral".
Retrieved 23 September 2011.
-
^
"Comitato Esecutivo". Aspen Institute Italia.
Retrieved 26 April 2013.
-
^
"Enrico Letta Profile: Mild-Mannered AC Milan Fan who is
Italy’s Next PM". International Business Times.
24 April 2013.
Retrieved 2013-04-30.
External links