Lorenzo Fioramonti (born 29 April 1977, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) is a political scientist and Former Minister of Education, University and Research of the Italian Republic
Fioramonti
is a professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences of the University of Surrey (UK), where he directs th
Institute for Sustainability
Prior to joining the University of Surrey, Fioramonti was a professor of

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

and an associate fellow of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn).

Career

In 2017, two books by Fioramonti were published ''Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth'' and ''The World After GDP: Economics, Politics and International Relations in the Post-Growth Era'', in May and March respectively. According to the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

, Fioramonti argues that

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

is "not only a distorted mirror in which to view our increasingly complex economies, but also an impediment to building better societies."

Publications

Fioramonti has co-authored and co-edited a total of te
books
Fioramonti's books include the bestselling ''Gross Domestic Problem: The Politics Behind the World’s Most Powerful Number'' and ''How Numbers Rule the World: The Use and Abuse of Statistics in Global Politics''. According to

the Hedgehog Review ''The Hedgehog Review'' is an interdisciplinary academic journal published triannually by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture (IASC) at the University of Virginia. The journal features critical writing about cultural identity, citizens ...

, Gross Domestic Problem is one three most influential books on the

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

published in the 21st century. According to ''

Public Books ''Public Books'' is an American book review website that publishes accessible reviews written by academics and public intellectuals. Overview Founding editors Caitlin Zaloom, and Sharon Marcus launched ''Public Books'' in mid-2012 to "give sch ...

'', Fioramonti’s research shows that “the reliance on GDP derives from a technocratic worldview that glorifies experts, corrodes communal values, and devalues the natural world.”" For the '' LSE Review of Books'', his research is a kind of “psychopath’s guide to bullying the world by numbers”, unmasking the pretension that “everything is ‘rational’, ‘independent’ and ‘objective’ and building fortresses of power around these intentional misrepresentations” . Fioramonti’s work has been endorsed by public intellectuals such as

Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalisation author. Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. She is often referred to as "Gandhi ...

, Susan George,

Raj Patel Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British Indian academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States for extended periods. He has been referred to as "the rock star of social ju ...

and

Kumi Naidoo Kumi Naidoo (b 1965 in Durban, South Africa) is a human rights and climate justice activist. He was International Executive Director of Greenpeace International (from 2009 through 2015) and Secretary General of Amnesty International (from 2018 ...

, the former executive director of the environmental organization

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

. Fioramonti is also the first

Jean Monnet Programme The Jean Monnet Programme, also known as the Jean Monnet Project or Jean Monnet Actions, is a European Union initiative to encourage teaching, research and reflection in the field of European integration studies in higher education institutions. I ...

Chair in Africa and the president of the

European Union Studies Association The European Union Studies Association (EUSA) (founded 1988) is a scholarly and professional association with its focus on the European Union, the processes of its integration, and its transatlantic relations. It notes valuable contributions to Eur ...

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. By 2014, he also holds the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

UNU ''unu'' (Romanian for "one"; lower case used on purpose) was the name of an avant-garde art and literary magazine, published in Romania from April 1928 to December 1932. Edited by writers Sașa Pană and Moldov, it was dedicated to Dada and Su ...

''Chair in Regional Integration, Migration and Free Movement of People''.

Positions

He is a fellow of the Centre for Social Investment of the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, of the

Hertie School of Governance The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin's Friedrichstraße. Hertie School is according t ...

and of the

United Nations University The (UNU) is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve global issues related to human development and welfare thro ...

. His articles have appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', the ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Massach ...

'', ''

Die Presse ''Die Presse'' is a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria. History and profile ''Die Presse'' was first printed on 3 July 1848 as a liberal (libertarian)-bourgeoi ...

'', ''

Der Freitag ''Der Freitag'' (English: ''The Friday'', stylized in its logo as ''der Freitag'') is a German weekly newspaper established in 1990. It is published in Rhenish format. The place of publication is Berlin. Its publisher and editor-in-chief is Jakob ...

,'' the ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cultu ...

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'' and

openDemocracy openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...

''.'' He has a monthly column in the ''Business Day'', South Africa’s leading financial newspaper.'

Politics

Fioramonti was nominated in January 2018, as a candidate for 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 ...

in the

2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective membe ...

. On 5 September 2019, Fioramonti was named

Italian Minister of Public Education This is a list of Italian Ministers of Public Education ( it, Ministri della Pubblica Istruzione) since the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946. The list shows also the ministers that served under the same office but with other names, in fact ...

. On 5 November 2019, Fioramonti announced that next year Italy will be the first country in the world where the study of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and sustainable development will be mandatory for students. On 18 November 2019, he stated that if there was no €3 billion fund in the 2020 budget law for the Ministry of Education, he would resign as Minister. On 25 December 2019 Fioramonti resigned from government in protest. He objected to the government not providing significant extra funding in the 2020 budget for the Ministry of Education. His decision was faced with strong criticism from his colleagues in the government and in the

, causing his resignation from the M5S on 30 December 2019.

Personal life

He is married and has two sons.

References

External links

* Faculty page at the Centre for the study of Governance Innovation
http://governanceinnovation.org/lorenzofioramonti/

Wellbeing Economy
Fioramonti's personal website {{DEFAULTSORT:Fioramonti, Lorenzo Living people 1977 births Politicians from Rome University of Rome Tor Vergata alumni Hertie School people 21st-century Italian politicians Education ministers of Italy Five Star Movement politicians Conte II Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy