Giulia Bongiorno (born 22 March 1966) is an Italian lawyer and politician who served as the

Italian Minister of Public Administration The Minister of Public Administration (Italian: ''Ministro per la Pubblica Amministrazione'') in Italy is one of the positions in the Italian government. The current Minister for Public Administration is Paolo Zangrillo, of Forza Italia, who ...

from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019. A prominent criminal defense attorney, she has served in both houses of the Italian parliament: formerly a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

from 2008 to 2013, she has served as a Senator of the Italian Republic since 15 March 2018.

Background

A native of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Bongiorno (a relative of

Mike Bongiorno Michael Nicholas Salvatore Bongiorno (; May 26, 1924 – September 8, 2009) was an Italian-American television host. After a few experiences in the US, he started working on RAI in the 1950s and was considered to be the most popular host in Ital ...

, the television host) studied at a

Liceo classico Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 1969, this was ...

, before matriculating to the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo ( it, Università degli Studi di Palermo) is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its ...

, where she studied law.

Law career

As a lawyer, she first rose to fame with her defence of

Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democra ...

, the forty-first

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

, during his Mafia association trials. Bongiorno, then in her twenties, successfully defended the statesman in court over the next decade, through multiple appeals, finally culminating in a full acquittal before the Supreme Court of Cassation in 2004. Her work in white-collar crime also brought her into contact with

Sergio Cragnotti Sergio Cragnotti (; born 9 January 1940, in Rome, Italy) is an Italian entrepreneur and author. One of the most high-profile and wealthy business figures in Italy in recent times, Cragnotti is best known for having been President of S.S. Lazio. ...

, the former head of Italian food company

Cirio Cirio S.p.A. (''Cirio Società per Azioni'') is a major Italian food company. It was founded in 1856 in Turin, Italy. They also sponsored S.S.C. Napoli in 1982–83 and 1984–85 season and S.S. Lazio from 1996 to 2000. See also * List of Ita ...

, whom she defended in a fraud case in 2008. She then went on to defend well-known clients, such as

Ezio Greggio Ezio Greggio (; born 7 April 1954) is an Italian-born Albanian comedian, actor, writer and film director. In Italy he is mostly known for his long-lasting appearances in TV shows like '' Drive In'' and '' Striscia la notizia'', while abroad h ...

Tiziano Ferro Tiziano Ferro (; born 21 February 1980) is an Italian singer, songwriter, producer and author. He broke through in 2001 with his international hit single "Perdono" and has remained commercially successful since then, in several countries. Ferro h ...

, and

Simone Pianigiani Simone Pianigiani (born 31 May 1969) is an Italian professional basketball coach currently acting as a team consultant for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. Coaching career Pro clubs Pianigiani was appointed the head coa ...

, in tax-related criminal proceedings. Bongiorno was also involved in cases with

Clementina Forleo Maria Clementina Forleo (born 1963, in Francavilla Fontana, province of Brindisi) is an Italian preliminary judge (''Giudice per le indagini preliminari'', or ''GIP'' for short) at the Court of Milan. She came to national prominence after discov ...

and

Niccolò Ghedini Niccolò Ghedini (22 December 1959 – 17 August 2022) was an Italian lawyer and politician who was the lawyer of the former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Ghedini was born in Padua on 22 December 1959. A member of the Italian Liberal Par ...

; as well as the acquittal of three

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

executives, including David Drummond and George Reyes of defamation, in a case involving a video showing students bullying a handicapped boy. Her defense of Raffaele Sollecito, a college student, in the murder trial of Meredith Kercher resulted in the acquittal of her client; the subsequent trials and acquittal of Sollecito's girlfriend,

Amanda Knox Amanda Marie Knox (born July 9, 1987) is an American author, activist, and journalist. She spent almost four years in an Italian prison following her wrongful conviction for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a fellow exchange student with ...

, went on to become a

cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...

in the United States. In the wake of the

Costa Concordia disaster On 13 January 2012, the eight-year-old Costa Cruises vessel ''Costa Concordia'' was on the last leg of a cruise around the Mediterranean Sea when she deviated from her planned route at Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, sailed closer to the island, an ...

, she represented passengers suing the cruise line. Bongiorno is also known for her work in sports law, representing clients ranging from fencer

Andrea Baldini Andrea Baldini (born 19 December 1985) is an Italian Foil (fencing), foil fencing, fencer, several time European and World champion and team Olympic champion in 2012. He is the only foil fencer in history to have obtained four golds (European and ...

, to footballers

Cristiano Doni Cristiano Doni (; born 1 April 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, on either flank or in the middle. Most of his professional career (which spanned two decades) was associated with Atalanta, ...

and

Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...

Political career

First elected to the

in 2006 for the constituency of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Bongiorno left the lower house in 2013, having been re-elected in the snap election of 2008. Originally a member of the National Alliance, upon its dissolution, she joined its successor,

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 ...

, led by

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

. After Berlusconi split with

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 ...

in July 2010, she left as well, joining Fini's new

Future and Freedom Future and Freedom ( it, Futuro e Libertà), whose full name was Future and Freedom for Italy (''Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia'', abbreviated to FLI), was a political party in Italy, comprising both liberal and national conservative elements. F ...

party, becoming a spokesperson for Future and Freedom, and protesting against Berlusconi's scandals. After the general election in 2018, where she was elected

Senator 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 ...

for Sicily among the ranks of the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

, she was seen a possible candidate for prime minister.

Political positions

Bongiorno is a chief architect of the 2009 law criminalising

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...

; she has also denounced

femicide Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," but definitions of it vary depending on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russ ...

. In 2014, Bongiorno proposed that

housewives A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying a ...

should be paid for their work, in order to strengthen their economic independence and advance their social dignity. During her time in the lower house, Bongiorno shepherded a wiretapping bill through Parliament; the

Italian Wikipedia The Italian Wikipedia ( it, Wikipedia in italiano) is the Italian-language edition of Wikipedia. This edition was created on May 11, 2001 and first edited on June 11, 2001. As of , , it has articles and more than registered accounts. It is t ...

protested by shutting down for a time. After punitive amendments were added, she disowned the bill entirely, and it ultimately failed to pass. In 2017, she rejected another version of the bill, saying that it contained ambiguities of language and imposed a burden on judges.

Minister of Public Administration

On 1 June 2018, Bongiorno became the

. With the fall of the cabinet during the

2019 Italian government crisis The 2019 Italian government crisis was a political event in Italy that occurred between August and September 2019. It includes the events that follow the announcement of the Minister of the Interior and leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, that ...

, and the subsequent establishment of the

Conte II Cabinet The second Conte government was the 66th government of the Italian Republic and the second government led by Giuseppe Conte. The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019 to 13 February 2021. The government was supported by the anti-establish ...

, Bongiorno ceased to be minister in early September 2019.

Other work

Bongiorno and

Michelle Hunziker Michelle Yvonne Hunziker (Swiss , ; born 24 January 1977) is a Swiss-Italian television presenter and former model. Early life Hunziker was born in Sorengo, Lugano, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Her mother Ineke is Dutch and ...

established a nonprofit foundation in 2007, ''Doppia Difesa'' (Double Defense), to combat

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

, and abuse against women. The foundation has, among other activities, begun public awareness campaigns (including with

Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...

), participated in conferences, and has received awards. The effectiveness of the foundation's efforts have been questioned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bongiorno, Giulia 1966 births 21st-century Italian lawyers 21st-century Italian women politicians Conte I Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XV of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy Future and Freedom politicians Italian women lawyers Lega Nord politicians Living people National Alliance (Italy) politicians Jurists from Palermo Senators of Legislature XVIII of Italy The People of Freedom politicians University of Palermo alumni Women government ministers of Italy 21st-century women lawyers Politicians from Palermo 20th-century Italian women Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)