![Gianni_Vernetti_Photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Gianni_Vernetti_Photo.jpg)
Gianni Vernetti (born 27 November 1960) is a writer and Italian politician.
Early life
Gianni Vernetti was born in Torino, Italy. In 1985 he graduated in Architecture at the
Polytechnic University of Turin
The Polytechnic University of Turin ( it, Politecnico di Torino) is the oldest Italian public technical university. The university offers several courses in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, Urban Planning and Industrial Design, and is con ...
. In 1987 he was awarded a PhD in Urban Ecology from the
Polytechnic University of Milan
The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students.
The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design.
Founded in 186 ...
.
Career
Between 1993 and 1999, Vernetti was Deputy Mayor of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
, in charge of Public Works, Environment and Sustainable Development, and Urban Renovation.
In 2001, he was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies of the
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitio ...
. As leader of his Group in the Commission on Energy and Industry he promoted several initiatives on Renewable Energies.
He was member of the National Steering Committee of his party,
The Daisy
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, a center-left political party member of the
European Democratic Party
The European Democratic Party (EDP) (French: Parti Démocrate Européen; PDE) also known as the European Democrats, is a centrist European political party in favour of European integration. François Bayrou is the President of the party.
All ...
(EDP) and of the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group (ALDE) in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
In 2006, he was elected to the
Senate of the Republic, and after the center-left coalition won the general election he became Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the
Prodi government. He was in charge of bilateral relations between Italy and the Asia/Pacific countries and on Democracy and Human Rights issues. Vernetti coordinated all the Italian initiatives in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, where Italy takes part in the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
military mission and is coordinating the Justice Sector and Rule of Law Reform.
He promoted the new Italian policies towards
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
implementing several development aid projects, and improving economic, commercial and military cooperation. He coordinated the Italian initiatives in Asia promoting several projects of economic, scientific, commercial and military cooperation, particularly between Italy and
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
China,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
,
Sri Lanka,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
Vernetti coordinated the Italian campaign for the Universal Moratorium on the Death Penalty, coordinating the action to seek consensus at the United Nations that led to the approval of the resolution in December 2007. He represented as well Italy in the
UN Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis ...
between 2006 and 2008.
Vernetti coordinated the Italian initiatives in the Pacific area and promoted the entrance of Italy into the
Pacific Islands Forum.
In 2008, Vernetti was elected for a third term in the Chamber of Deputies and he was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Italian Delegation to the
NATO Parliamentarian Assembly
Founded in 1955, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Alliance. Its current President is Gerald E. Connolly from the United States, elected in 2019. Its curre ...
. He was member of the Steering Committee of the
European Democratic Party
The European Democratic Party (EDP) (French: Parti Démocrate Européen; PDE) also known as the European Democrats, is a centrist European political party in favour of European integration. François Bayrou is the President of the party.
All ...
.
He is Coordinator of the
Alliance of Democrats
an international network of more than 70 democratic, liberal and centrist political parties from all the five continents.
He is co-president of the Italian Group of the Liberal International
Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
.
He became President of the Italy-Tibet Parliamentary Association in 2008, and Vice-President of the Italy-Israel Parliamentary Association.
In 2013, after three terms in Parliament, he decided to not run again and founde
Gea Solar
a company focused on utility scale Solar PV development in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Since January 2018, he is columnist on foreign affairs at the Italian daily newspaper La Stampa and in May 2020 became columnist at La Repubblica
''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnol ...
and Huffington Post, writing several op-ed and reportage on foreign politics, security and human rights.
Personal life
He is married to Laura De Donato, a journalist. They have four children.
References
External links
Personal website
Camera dei Deputati
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernetti, Gianni
1960 births
Living people
Politicians from Turin
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy politicians
Polytechnic University of Turin alumni
Polytechnic University of Milan alumni
Deputies of Legislature XIV of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy
Senators of Legislature XV of Italy