Leoluca Orlando
| Leoluca Orlando | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Mayor of Palermo | |
|
Assumed office 21 May 2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Diego Cammarata |
|
In office 21 November 1993 – 16 April 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Manlio Orobello |
| Succeeded by | Diego Cammarata |
|
In office 13 May 1985 – 7 May 1990 |
|
| Preceded by | Nello Martellucci |
| Succeeded by | Domenico Lo Vasco |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 1, 1947 Palermo |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Political party |
DC (before 1991) LR (1991–1999) DL (2000–2005) IdV (2005–2013) LR 2018 (2013–present) |
| Relations | Married |
| Alma mater | University of Palermo |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Leoluca Orlando (born 1 August 1947), is an Italian politician and current Mayor of Palermo. He was also mayor of the city in 1985–1990 and 1993–2000. He is best known for his strong opposition to the Sicilian Mafia, but also for his vocal criticism of Giovanni Falcone, a leading prosecuting magistrate murdered by Cosa Nostra in 1992.
Orlando was born in Palermo. He graduated in jurisprudence and worked as lawyer and professor at the University of Palermo.
He was a member of Christian Democracy (DC), in the left wing of the party. He entered politics in 1976 as legal adviser to Christian Democratic reformer Piersanti Mattarella, who became president of the Sicilian Region in 1978. The two men set out to break the Mafia's hold on the island, transferring budget authority from the corrupt regional government back to the cities and passing a law enforcing the same building standards used in the rest of Italy, thereby making the Mafia's building schemes illegal. In retaliation, the Mafia killed Mattarella in January 1980.
The brother of Mattarella and other associates urged him to run for the Palermo municipal council, he ran successfully, and was elected mayor by the town council in 1985. From 1985-1990 he was elected mayor of Palermo, and received many threats as a result of his open opposition to the power of the Mafia in the city. He was re-elected as mayor in 1993 with 75.2% of the vote. In 1992 he was also elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Two years later he became a member of the European Parliament.
After the dissolution of DC, he founded a popular movement called The Network ("La Rete"), which in 1999 joined with Romano Prodi's Democrats. In 2001 he was among the founders of The Daisy, an Italian party currently including most of the former left-wing members of DC.
...
Wikipedia