Paolo Gentiloni | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2019 | |
European Commissioner for Economy | |
Assumed office 1 December 2019 | |
President | Ursula von der Leyen |
Preceded by | Pierre Moscovici |
Prime Minister of Italy | |
In office 12 December 2016 – 1 June 2018 | |
President | Sergio Mattarella |
Preceded by | Matteo Renzi |
Succeeded by | Giuseppe Conte |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 31 October 2014 – 12 December 2016 | |
Prime Minister | Matteo Renzi |
Preceded by | Federica Mogherini |
Succeeded by | Angelino Alfano |
Minister of Communications | |
In office 17 May 2006 – 8 May 2008 | |
Prime Minister | Romano Prodi |
Preceded by | Mario Landolfi |
Succeeded by | Claudio Scajola |
President of the Democratic Party | |
In office 17 March 2019 – 22 February 2020 | |
Secretary | Nicola Zingaretti |
Preceded by | Matteo Orfini |
Succeeded by | Valentina Cuppi |
Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
In office 30 May 2001 – 2 December 2019 | |
Constituency | Piedmont (2001–2006) Lazio (2006–2018) Rome (2018–2019) |
Personal details | |
Born | Paolo Gentiloni Silveri 22 November 1954 Rome, Italy |
Political party | MLS (1976–1981) PdUP (1981–1984) Dem (1999–2002) DL (2002–2007) PD (since 2007) |
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Spouse |
Emanuela Mauro (m. 1989) |
Education | Sapienza University of Rome |
Signature | ![]() |
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Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo dʒentiˈloːni]; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has been serving as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019.[2] He had previously served as prime minister of Italy from December 2016 to June 2018.[3][4]
After a lengthy career in local politics, Gentiloni was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2001. He served in the Cabinet under Romano Prodi as Minister of Communications from 2006 to 2008.[5] In 2007, he was one of the senior founding members of the Democratic Party, and went on to become party president from 2019 to 2020.[6] Gentiloni later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2016 in the Cabinet of Matteo Renzi. Following Renzi's resignation in the wake of a failed constitutional referendum, the Democratic Party held discussions on his replacement. Eventually, Gentiloni won support from his colleagues, and President Sergio Mattarella appointed him Prime Minister on 12 December 2016.[7]
Despite being considered a caretaker Prime Minister upon his appointment, during his time in office Gentiloni successfully delivered major reforms that had been delayed for many years, including the implementation of the advance healthcare directive and the passage of a new electoral law.[8][9] He also introduced stricter rules on immigration and social security, in an attempt to counteract the European migration crisis.[10] In foreign policy, Gentiloni built on his time as Foreign Minister by projecting a strong Europeanist stance, whilst at the same time building close relations with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, and notably overseeing a normalisation of Italian relations with India after years of tensions.[11][12] Gentiloni resigned as Prime Minister following the 2018 election. In September 2019, he was nominated by the Conte Government to become Italy's new European Commissioner, and was given the key portfolio of overseeing the European Union Economy.