Michela Vittoria Brambilla (born 26 October 1967) is an Italian politician and businesswoman. On 12 May 2008 she was nominated undersecretary (Tourism) in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet; on 8 May 2009 she was appointed Minister of Culture and Tourism, a position held until 2011. On 21 August 2007 she set up, apparently with his blessing, the new

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 ...

, the goal of which is to merge the right-wing allies of Berlusconi.

Biography

Heir of a family of steel manufacturers going back four generations, Brambilla received a degree in philosophy from 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 2006 she lost an election for 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 ...

, on the

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

ticket. In 2007 she named herself president of the national association of the

Club of Freedom The National Association Club of Freedom (''Associazione Nazionale Circolo della Libertà''), more frequently referred to as Clubs of Freedom (''Circoli della Libertà''), was a grassroots organisation within The People of Freedom, a political party ...

, the political organisation she created, which has more than 6,000 clubs all around Italy. Before entering politics she was a television journalist for Berlusconi's Mediaset group. She is the general executive manager of Trafilerie Brambilla spa, a steel manufacturing firm, and is president of two businesses with her father Vittorio: Sal Group spa and Sotra Coast International. She rose quickly to national prominence in 2003 after having been named president of the under-40 entrepreneurs' council at Confcommercio. On 20 November 2006 she founded the Freedom Circles organisation and published the book titled ''Tutte le tasse di Prodi & C.: una finanziaria contro gli italiani''.Bibliographic record on Worldcat
/ref> She has worked very closely with Silvio Berlusconi, the president of the Forza Italia party. Some observers (such as the magazine ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

''), name her as a possible successor to Berlusconi, as leader of the party and of the Italian

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...

. Brambilla has publicly denied such rumours. In June 2007, through the Freedom Clubs organisation, Brambilla launched the satellite channel Freedom TV, featuring talks with experts, professionals and private citizens, often connected with her personal campaign against tax evasion.

References

External links

Official website of the Freedom Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brambilla, Michela Vittoria 1967 births People from Lecco The People of Freedom politicians Forza Italia (2013) politicians Living people Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni Women government ministers of Italy 21st-century Italian women Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIX of Italy Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)

Biography

See also

References

External links