Giulia Bongiorno (born 22 March 1966) is an Italian lawyer and politician who served as the Italian Minister of Public Administration 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 The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

since 15 March 2018.

Background

A native of Sicily, Bongiorno (a relative of Mike Bongiorno, the television host) studied at a Liceo classico, before matriculating to the University of Palermo, 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, 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 A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

in 2004. Her work in white-collar crime also brought her into contact with Sergio Cragnotti, the former head of Italian food company Cirio, whom she defended in a fraud case in 2008. She then went on to defend well-known clients, such as Ezio Greggio, Tiziano Ferro, and Simone Pianigiani, 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 executives, including David Drummond and

George Reyes George Reyes is the former CFO of Google. He was formerly a director of BEA Systems, Symantec, and LifeLock. Reyes was the CFO of Google from 2003–2008, his announcement of retirement came in 2007. He became the CFO, Senior VP in 2006. Reyes re ...

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, went on to become a cause célèbre in the United States. In the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster, she represented passengers suing the cruise line. Bongiorno is also known for her work in sports law, representing clients ranging from fencer Andrea Baldini, to footballers Cristiano Doni and Francesco Totti.

Political career

First elected to the

in 2006 for the constituency of Lazio, 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, led by Silvio Berlusconi. 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, she was seen a possible candidate for prime minister.

Political positions

Bongiorno is a chief architect of the 2009 law criminalising stalking; she has also denounced femicide. In 2014, Bongiorno proposed that housewives 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 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 Italian Minister of Public Administration. 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, Bongiorno ceased to be minister in early September 2019.

Other work

Bongiorno and Michelle Hunziker 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, 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 21st-century 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)