Cecile Kyenge
| Cécile Kashetu Kyenge | |
|---|---|
Kyenge in 2013
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| Member of the European Parliament | |
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Assumed office 1 July 2014 |
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| Constituency | North-East Italy |
| Minister of Integration | |
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In office 28 April 2013 – 22 February 2014 |
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| President | Giorgio Napolitano |
| Prime Minister | Enrico Letta |
| Preceded by | Andrea Riccardi |
| Succeeded by | Ministry abolished |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
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In office 26 February 2013 – 18 February 2014 |
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| Constituency | Emilia-Romagna |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 August 1964 Kambove, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Domenico Grispino (1994–present) |
| Children | Giulia Maisha |
| Alma mater | Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore |
| Profession | Ophthalmologist |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Cécile Kashetu Kyenge (IPA: [seˈsil ˈkjɛŋɡe]; born Kashetu Kyenge 28 August 1964) is an Italian politician and ophthalmologist. She was the Minister for Integration in the 2013–14 Letta Cabinet. On 25 May 2014 she was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
After moving to Italy in 1983, she became a qualified ophthalmologist in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. She has founded an intercultural Association (DAWA) to promote mutual awareness, integration and cooperation between Italy and Africa, particularly in her country of birth, the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is also the spokesperson of the association "March First", which works to promote the rights of migrants in Italy.
In February 2013 she was elected member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Democratic Party in Emilia-Romagna. Two months later she was appointed Minister for Integration in the grand coalition government formed by Enrico Letta, becoming Italy's first black cabinet minister. She supports the introduction of a Jus soli law to grant citizenship to children of immigrants born on Italian soil.
Kyenge was born in Kambove (Haut-Katanga District) in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 28 August 1964. She arrived in Italy with a student visa in 1983. She has been married since 1994 with an Italian engineer, Domenico Grisino, and has two daughters named Giulia and Maisha. She lives in Castelfranco Emilia. She has a degree in medicine and surgery from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome. She is a specialist in ophthalmology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
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