Walter Veltroni
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The Honourable Walter Veltroni OMRI |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Secretary of the Democratic Party | |
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In office 14 October 2007 – 21 February 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Dario Franceschini |
| Mayor of Rome | |
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In office 1 June 2001 – 13 February 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Francesco Rutelli |
| Succeeded by | Gianni Alemanno |
| Minister of Cultural Heritage | |
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In office 17 May 1996 – 21 October 1998 |
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| Prime Minister | Romano Prodi |
| Preceded by | Antonio Paolucci (Culture and the Environment) |
| Succeeded by | Giovanna Melandri (Culture and the Environment) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 July 1955 Rome, Italy |
| Political party |
PCI (Before 1991) PDS (1991–1998) DS (1998–2007) PD (2007–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Flavia Prisco |
| Children | 2 |
Walter Veltroni OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈvalter velˈtroːni]; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from June 2001 to February 2008.
Veltroni was born in Rome. His father, Vittorio Veltroni, an eminent RAI manager in the 1950s, died only one year later. His mother, Ivanka Kotnik, was the daughter of Ciril Kotnik, a Slovenian diplomat at the Holy See who helped numerous Jews and antifascists to escape Nazi persecution after 1943.
Veltroni joined the Italian Communist Youth Federation (FGCI) at the age of 15, and was elected Rome city councilor in 1976 as member of the Italian Communist Party, serving until 1981. He was then elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1987. As a member of the Italian Communist Party's national secretariat in 1988, he played a leading role in the transformation into a social democratic party.
Veltroni, a professional journalist, was editor-in-chief of L'Unità, the newspaper of the Democratic Party of the Left from 1992-96. He then successfully ran as vice-premier candidate, together with Romano Prodi, for the 1996 national election in Italy. In 1996 he joined the Bilderberg Group meeting, and was from 1996-98 Minister for Cultural Assets and Activities. In 1998 he resigned, subsequent to his election as National Secretary of the Democrats of the Left (DS). Despite his background as a journalist, he has been involved in controversial episodes related to freedom of expression. For example, in 2001, after the late night show Satyricon aired an interview that discussed indictments on links between the right-wing leader and the mafia, Marco Travaglio reported that Veltroni dispatched a messenger menacing the closure of the show.
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