Antonio Decaro (born 17 July 1970) is an Italian politician, current Mayor of

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Biography

Decaro graduated in engineering at the Polytechnic University of Bari. After a brief work experience as deputy head compartment of the Apulian Aqueduct, he has been employed by

ANAS ''Anas'' is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus wa ...

in 2000. In 2004 he was hired by mayor of

Michele Emiliano Michele Emiliano (born 23 July 1959) is an Italian politician and former judge. He is the incumbent president of Apulia Region since June 2015, and he previously served as mayor of Bari from 2004 to 2014. Emiliano has often been considered a popu ...

as Councilor for mobility and traffic, distinguishing himself for his environmentalism: Decaro has contributed to the implementation of initiatives and infrastructures that have marked the change in the mobility and traffic policies in

. His goal was to empty the city center from cars and re-qualify the spaces and lifestyle of citizens and commuters. In 2010 he is elected regional councilor in

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

with the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and became group leader of the party in the regional assembly from 2010 to 2013, when he is elected

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

after the 2013 elections. In January 2014, he announced on his

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page his intention to run for the role of mayor of

. In June, he is elected mayor, with the support of his predecessor

, the

Left Ecology Freedom Left Ecology Freedom ( it, Sinistra Ecologia Libertà, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party. The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President ...

Italy of Values Italy of Values ( it, Italia dei Valori, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former ''Mani pulite'' prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the par ...

and the Democratic Centre. On 12 October 2016, Decaro is elected President of the National Association of Italian Comunes, the association of all the mayors of the country. On 26 May 2019, Decaro ran for re-election as mayor of Bari. He won handily with nearly two-thirds of the vote (66.27%) in the first round, thus avoiding a runoff. In 2020, in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic that ravaged Northern Italy, Decaro even though he's mayor of a Southern city, became a social media star and instant sensation overnight due to his strong-mannered rebukes of citizens who wouldn't respect the stay-at-home rule. Mayor Decaro even had Facebook and Instagram fan pages founded by women who immediately claimed to be attracted to him after his online rants appealing to his constituents became popular.

References

External links

*Files about his parliamentary activities (in Italian)
XVII
legislature. {{DEFAULTSORT:Decaro, Antonio 1970 births Living people People from Bari Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Politicians of Apulia Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy 21st-century Italian politicians Mayors of Bari