Roberta Pinotti (born 20 May 1961) is an Italian politician, member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. From 22 February 2014 to 1 June 2018 she served as the
Italian Minister of Defence
This Italian Ministers of Defence ( it, Ministro della Difesa) is a senior member of the Italian Cabinet who leads the Ministry of Defence. The minister is responsible for military and civil defence matters and managing the Italian Armed Forces. ...
in the governments of
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having been ...
and
Paolo Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
.
Early life
Roberta Pinotti was born in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, in 1961; she holds a degree in
modern literature at the
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...
and is a teacher of Italian in high schools.
During her adolescence, she was a member of the
Association of Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts.
Political career
She began her political career at the end of the 1980s as a district counselor of
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy.
The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...
.
She later joined the
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left ( it, Partito Democratico della Sinistra, PDS) was a democratic socialist and social-democratic political party in Italy. Founded in February 1991 as the post-communist evolution of the Italian Communist Party, ...
, the
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy.
The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of th ...
party (in which she held the position of provincial secretary between 1999 and 2001) and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
In her hometown she has served as councilor for school, youth policies and social policies (1993–1997) and for educational institutions (1997–1999).
First elected
deputy
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...
in 2001, Pinotti was the shadow minister of defense in the
Shadow Cabinet of
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni (; born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, film director, journalist, and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He serve ...
between May 2008 and April 2009.
In 2012 she was a candidate for the centre-left primary election to become
Mayor of Genoa
The mayor of Genoa (Italian: ''sindaco di Genova'') is an elected politician who, along with the Genoa City Council of 40 members, is accountable for the strategic government of the municipality of Genoa, Liguria, Italy.
The current office hold ...
, but she arrived only third after the leftist
Marco Doria
Patrician Marco Doria, Marquis and Count of Montaldeo (born 13 October 1957) is an Italian academic and politician from Genoa. He served as Mayor of Genoa from 2012 to 2017.
Biography
Doria is a descendant of the Genoese ancient and noble fa ...
and the upcoming Mayor
Marta Vincenzi
Marta Vincenzi (born 27 May 1947) is an Italian politician and former Mayor of Genoa. She was previously a Member of the European Parliament for the North-West of Italy with the Democrats of the Left (DS), part of the Socialist Group from 2004 u ...
.
In 2013 she was appointed undersecretary of state (''sottosegretario di stato'') in the Ministry of Defence in the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
led by
Enrico Letta
Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014, leading a grand coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties. Since March 2021, Letta has been secretary ...
.
After her stint as Minister of Defence, Pinotti became a Senator of the Democratic Party of Italy.
Minister of Defence
When the new Secretary of the Democratic Party
Matteo Renzi
Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having been ...
forced Letta to resign and became the new Prime Minister on 22 February 2014, he appointed Pinotti as
Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
;
she is the first woman to have ever held this office in Italy.
Her first act was to meet the wives of the two Italian marines detained in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, due to the
''Enrica Lexie'' case.
She received the ''America Award'' of the
Italy-USA Foundation in 2014.
In October 2014 she visited the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
and met with
Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, مُحَمّد بِن زَايد آل نَهيَان, Moḥamed bin Zāyed Āl Nahyān; born 11 March 1961), colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirates ...
in order to strengthen the bilateral relations with regards to the
Defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
. In February 2015 she returned to the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
in occasion of the
International Defence Industry Exhibition
The International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO ( Międzynarodowy Salon Przemysłu Obronnego) claims to be the largest trade fair event dedicated to military equipment in Central and Eastern Europe. Established in 1993, it is currently held ...
(IDEX), attended by several Italian companies, and met again with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
She received criticism in February 2015 over navy recruitment adverts which used slogans written in English.
Later that month she hinted that Italy was ready to lead a coalition force to defeat
ISIS in Libya, saying: “We have been discussing it for months, but now an intervention has become urgent.”
On 12 December 2016, when Renzi resigned as Prime Minister after the
constitutional referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, Pinotti was confirmed as Defence Minister by the new Prime Minister
Paolo Gentiloni
Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who has served as European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019. He previously served as prime minister of Italy from December ...
.
In 2017 the Parliament approved the so-called "White Book", a plan of reorganization of the heads of the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
and the related structures; the plan also provided a reform of the
Italian Armed Forces
The Italian Armed Forces ( it, Forze armate italiane, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and ar ...
and a reorganization of the training system.
Libro bianco: il Ministro Pinotti ha illustrato la riforma delle Forze armate
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinotti, Roberta
1961 births
21st-century Italian women politicians
Democratic Party (Italy) politicians
Democratic Party of the Left politicians
Democrats of the Left politicians
Deputies of Legislature XIV of Italy
Deputies of Legislature XV of Italy
Female defence ministers
Italian Communist Party politicians
Italian Ministers of Defence
Italian Roman Catholics
Living people
Politicians from Genoa
Renzi Cabinet
Senators of Legislature XVI of Italy
Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy
Senators of Legislature XVIII of Italy
University of Genoa alumni
Women government ministers of Italy
20th-century Italian women
Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)
Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)