Anna Maria Bernini (born 17 August 1965) is an Italian politician, lawyer and university professor.

Biography

Bernini is a civil and administrative lawyer and associate professor of Compared Public Law at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

, where she later taught also Institutions of Public Law, and Law of International and Internal Arbitration and of the alternative procedures. She completed her legal training by participating in several study abroad programs at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, the

London Court of International Arbitration The London Court of International Arbitration is a British private company limited by guarantee with a head office in London. It offers dispute resolution through arbitration and mediation. History The City of London Chamber of Arbitration w ...

(LCIA), Queen Mary College, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators of London, the Institut du Droit et des Pratiques des Affaires Internationales de la Chambre de Commerce Internationale and the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

Political career

In 2007, Bernini was one of the promoters of the FareFuturo association founded by

Gianfranco Fini Gianfranco Fini (born 3 January 1952) is an Italian politician who served as the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2008 to 2013. He is the former leader of the far-right Italian Social Movement, the conservative National Allianc ...

. She also joined Fini's National Alliance party. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the

2008 Italian general election A snap election was held in Italy on 13–14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved the Italian Parliament on 6 February 2008, following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January ...

with

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...

. In 2010 she was candidate in the Emilia-Romagna regional election, losing against

Vasco Errani Vasco Errani (born 17 May 1955) is an Italian politician. He was a founding member of the Democratic Party (PD), which he has left on 22 February 2017, to join the Democratic and Progressive Movement, a party founded by the former PD left-wing ...

. On 27 July 2011 she was appointed Minister of European Affairs, following the resignation of

Andrea Ronchi Andrea Ronchi (born 3 August 1955) is an Italian politician, former Italian Minister of European Affairs.

. In the
2013 Italian general election The 2013 Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 17th Italian Parliament. The centre-left alliance ...
she was elected to the Senate of the Republic. She is later re-elected at the 2018 general election and proposed by the Northern League as a possible candidate for the role of
President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
, but she refused, choosing to endorse her party colleague
Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati Maria Elisabetta Casellati (; born 12 August 1946) is an Italian lawyer and politician. She was President of the Italian Senate from 2018 to 2022. She was the first woman ever to have held this position. Casellati is a long-time member of the li ...
. On 27 March 2018, Bernini is elected group leader of
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
at the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.

Political positions
Dissenting from the majority of her party, Bernini is fully favourable to the
recognition of same-sex unions in Italy Italy has recognised same-sex civil unions ( it, unione civile); german: eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft; sc, unione civile; lld, uniun zivila; sl, civilna zveza. since 5 June 2016, providing same-sex couples with most of the legal protections ...
and to the
stepchild adoption Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Italy significantly advanced in the 21st century, although LGBT people still face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. According to ILGA-Europe's 2021 report, the stat ...
.

Family
Anna Maria Bernini was the daughter of Giorgio Bernini (1928–2020), who was a lawyer for the United Nations and
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
politician, minister of foreign trade in Berlusconi's first cabinet. She was married to Luciano Bovicelli, a noted gynecologist, who died in 2011.E’ morto il dottor Bovicelli, marito dell’ex ministro Bernini
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Electoral history

References

External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernini, Anna Maria Politicians from Bologna National Alliance (Italy) politicians The People of Freedom politicians Forza Italia (2013) senators 1965 births Living people Women government ministers of Italy Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy Senators of Legislature XVIII of Italy 21st-century Italian women politicians Meloni Cabinet Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy) 21st-century Italian lawyers