Ignazio La Russa
| Ignazio La Russa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Defence | |
|
In office 8 May 2008 – 16 November 2011 |
|
| Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Preceded by | Arturo Parisi |
| Succeeded by | Giampaolo Di Paola |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 July 1947 Paternò, Italy |
| Political party |
Brothers of Italy (2012-present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Italian Social Movement (1971-1995) National Alliance (1995-2009) The People of Freedom (2009-2012) |
| Spouse(s) | Laura De Cicco |
| Children | Geronimo Lorenzo Cochis Leonardo Apache |
| Parents | Antonino La Russa Lidia La Russa |
| Relatives | Vincenzo La Russa (brother) Emilia La Russa (sister) Romano La Russa (brother) |
| Alma mater | University of Pavia |
Ignazio Benito Maria La Russa (born in Paternò, Catania, Sicily 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician. He was Minister of Defence in the fourth cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi.
On 11 May 2008, he became acting president of National Alliance (AN), which, on 29 March 2009, merged into Berlusconi's party The People of Freedom (PdL). He was one of the three national coordinators of the PdL until 17 December 2012 when he launched his own National Centre-right (CN) party.
He is married and has three sons, Geronimo, Lorenzo and Leonardo.
When he was 13, his family moved to Milan, where his father Antonino La Russa was a practising lawyer. After attending college in the German-speaking Swiss canton of St. Gallen, he obtained a degree in Law at the University of Pavia. After serving as a Regular Army Reserve Officer, he has worked as a criminal defence lawyer at the Court of Cassation.
He has shown an interest in politics since his student years, and was involved in far-right activism in Milan.
In 1985, he was elected Regional Councillor for the Lombardy Region, for the neo-fascist Italian party Movimento Sociale Italiano.
In 1992, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) to both the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies (a law of the time allowed a candidate to run for election as representative for both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies: if the candidate obtained sufficient votes to be elected to both, he had to opt for one of the Houses; this law has been modified some years ago: now candidates have to choose the House they will run for in advance), and Daniela Santanché became one of his assistants.
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