Senator Francesco Rutelli |
|
---|---|
Deputy Prime Minister of Italy | |
In office 17 May 2006 – 8 May 2008 |
|
Prime Minister | Romano Prodi |
Preceded by |
Gianfranco Fini Giulio Tremonti |
Succeeded by | Angelino Alfano |
Minister of Cultural Heritage | |
In office 17 May 2006 – 8 May 2008 |
|
Preceded by | Rocco Buttiglione |
Succeeded by | Sandro Bondi |
61st Mayor of Rome | |
In office 5 December 1993 – 8 January 2001 |
|
Preceded by | Franco Carraro |
Succeeded by | Walter Veltroni |
Personal details | |
Born |
Rome, Italy |
14 June 1954
Nationality | Italian |
Political party |
Radical Party (1972–1989) Rainbow Greens (1989–1990) Federation of the Greens (1990–1999) The Democrats (1999–2002) The Daisy (2002–2007) Democratic Party (2007–2009) Alliance for Italy (2009–present) |
Spouse(s) | Barbara Palombelli |
Francesco Rutelli (born 14 June 1954) is an Italian politician and current President of European Democratic Party. He also chairs the "Centro per un Futuro Sostenibile" (Centre for a Sustainable Future – a bipartisan think tank on climate change and environmental issues). He is co-president of the European Democratic Party, a centrist European political party, today counting approximately 20 MEPs. He has been Mayor of Rome 1994–2001, and president of the centrist party Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy 2002–2007. He was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Tourism in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Romano Prodi 2006–2008. In 2008 Rutelli ran unsuccessfully for a new term as Mayor of Rome after the resignation of Walter Veltroni. Currently he also chairs Priorità Cultura (Culture First); Incontro di Civiltà (Civilizations Meeting).
Born in Rome, he entered politics joining the Radical Party, for which he was then elected secretary in 1980, aged 26. With the Radicals, Rutelli championed humanitarian and libertarian policies such as unilateral disarmament, abolition of nuclear power plants, conscientious objection to the compulsory National Service, eradication of world hunger, decriminalisation of the use of cannabis. At those times the political action of the Italian Radicals was self-defined as inspired by the Gandhian non-violent movement. After quitting the University on 1977, at the age of 62 years old, forty years later, on 2017, he obtained his undergraduate diploma in environment planning. Some journals speculated he graduated to make more credible his appointment as UNESCO Director-General, being UNESCO the UN-Agency in charge of Culture ad Education.