Giulia Grillo (born 30 May 1975) is an Italian physician and politician who served as the

Italian Minister of Health The Minister of Health (Italian: ''Ministro della Salute'') in Italy is one of the positions in the Italian government. The ministry was officially established in 1958, with Vincenzo Monaldi, of the Christian Democracy, serving as the first min ...

from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019. A member of the

Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...

, she has served as 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 ...

since 15 March 2013.

Background

Born in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, Grillo studied medicine and surgery at the

University of Catania The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...

. She later studied at the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (English: ''Catholic University of the Sacred Heart'', colloquially the ''Catholic University of Milan''), known as UCSC or UNICATT or simply Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 19 ...

in 2014.

Political career

Grillo originally became interested in politics due to the influence of

Beppe Grillo Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and politician. He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Five Star Movement ...

(no known relation), the founder of the

. She stood for the Sicilian regional election in 2008, but failed to be elected. In 2013, she was elected as a member of the Five Star Movement in the Italian general election to the

; she was reelected in the general election of 2018. In contrast to some members of her party who doubt the effectiveness of vaccines, Grillo believes that vaccines are necessary, but has expressed some trepidation about mandatory vaccinations for children, preferring instead a strategy of convincing distrustful parents about the necessity of vaccinations. In addition, Grillo has also criticised the perceived closeness between vaccine manufacturers and the

Italian Medicines Agency The Italian Medicines Agency (''Agenzia italiana del farmaco'', AIFA) is the public institution responsible for the regulatory activity of pharmaceuticals in Italy. See also *European Medicines Agency *Istituto Superiore di Sanità External link ...

. On 1 June 2018, she was sworn in as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

in the

Conte Cabinet The first Conte government was the 65th government of the Italian Republic. It was led by Giuseppe Conte, an independent, and it was in office from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019. The cabinet was formed by a coalition between the Five Star Mo ...

, under Prime Minister

Giuseppe Conte Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) sin ...

. With the formation 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 ...

in September 2019, she left the government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grillo, Giulia 1975 births Living people Politicians from Catania University of Catania alumni Italian Ministers of Health Women government ministers of Italy Conte I Cabinet Five Star Movement politicians Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy 21st-century Italian politicians 21st-century Italian women politicians Physicians from Sicily 20th-century Italian women Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)