Roberto Formigoni (born 30 March 1947) is a former Italian politician born in

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label=Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

, Italy. He was the

President of Lombardy The president of Lombardy is the supreme authority of Lombardy, the most populated region of Italy. Election Originally appointed by the Regional Council of Lombardy, since 1995 ''de facto'' and 2000 ''de jure'', the president is elected by popu ...

from 1995 to 2013. He is the former unofficial political spokesperson of the

Communion and Liberation Communion and Liberation (Italian: Comunione e Liberazione, often shortened to CL) is an International Catholic movement founded in 1954 by Fr. Luigi Giussani. The official name is the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation. Its aim is to pres ...

movement. On 21 February 2019, the Supreme Court of Cassation, the highest court in Italy, found him guilty of corruption and sentenced him to a definitive jail term of 5 years and 10 months. As a result, he has been detained in the prison of

Bollate Bollate (Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. As of 30 November 2017, it had a population of 36,488. Bollate borders the following muni ...

, near Milan, Italy, since February 2019.

Career

Roberto Formigoni began his political career early in

Christian Democracy Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

, through youth movements such as ''Gioventù Studentesca'' and

(of which he became the unofficial political spokesman). In 1976, he founded the Popular Movement and was elected a deputy in both the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

(with over 450,000 votes) and

Parliament of Italy The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...

. He was also the vice-president of the European Parliament for five years and served as under-secretary for the

Environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

in the Italian government. In 1990, he garnered attention when he was involved in a mission to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

which successfully concluded with the freeing of some Italian technicians who were hostages of the local government. He later took part in the Oil-for-food programme for Iraq, buying 1,000,000 oil barrels (160,000 cubic metres). The move sparked controversy and linked him to alleged bribe scandals. In 1995, he and

Rocco Buttiglione Rocco Buttiglione (; born 6 June 1948) is an Italian Union of Christian and Centre Democrats politician and an academic. Buttiglione's nomination for a post as European Commissioner with a portfolio that was to include civil liberties, resulted ...

founded the

United Christian Democrats The United Christian Democrats ( it, Cristiani Democratici Uniti, CDU) was a minor Christian democratic political party in Italy. The CDU was a member of the European People's Party from 1995 until 2002. History The party was started in 1995 by ...

party. In 1998, he moved to

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 ...

, when Buttiglione briefly decided to support the government of

Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema (; born 20 April 1949) is an Italian politician and journalist who was the 53rd prime minister of Italy from 1998 to 2000. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2008. D'Alema also serv ...

. He was elected

in 1995. Leftist groups opposed his center-right platform. President Formigoni was re-elected in 2000 carrying over 62% of the approximately 3.5 million votes, and in 2005. He was elected to a fourth term in March 2010. His candidature had been contested by academics and left-wing politicians, as in disregard of Law n. 165/2004, that put a limit of two consecutive mandates to directly elected Regional presidents. Formigoni was indirectly elected in 1995, but then directly elected in 2000 and 2005. He defended himself, stating that the law was not in vigour when he was first directly elected in 2000, so he should be allowed a 4th mandate. According to some scholars, his mandate may be overturned by judges later on.Michele Ainis
La terza via di Errani e Formigoni
''La Stampa'', 25 gennaio 2010

Controversies

Roberto Formigoni candidated the Italian

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

Nicole Minetti and

dental hygienist A dental hygienist or oral hygienist is a licensed dental professional, registered with a dental association or regulatory body within their country of practice. Prior to completing clinical and written board examinations, registered dental hygien ...

of the former Italian Prime Minister

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

, who asked for a political seat for her and this was contested by Italian newspapers. On 16 October 2012, Formigoni announced the dissolution of the regional legislature after one of his commissioners, Domenico Zambetti of 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 ...

was arrested on accusations he bought votes from the

'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a prominent Italian Mafia-type organized crime syndicate and secret society, criminal society based in the peninsular and mountainous region of Calabria and dating back to the late 18th century. It is considered one of ...

in 2010 and extorted favours and public building contracts, including construction tenders for the

World Expo A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

2015 in Milan.Italy corruption probes claim Lombardy legislature
Miami Herald, 16 October 2012
Financial Times, 14 October 2012

Italian Courts Trials Sentences against Roberto Formigoni

2000s Bribery and environmental pollution

Roberto Formigoni has been judged on 2002 due bribery due the landfill in

Cerro Maggiore Cerro Maggiore (Western Lombard, Legnanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Milan in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. On 25 August 1946 Benito Mussolini's corpse was hided in the town, rem ...

, Italy. Roberto Formigoni has been processed through the Italian Courts due illegal environmental pollution in December 2009.

2010s: Freemasonry and defamatory behavior against Italian judges

Roberto Formigoni was interrogated by Italian Court in Rome due the

Propaganda 2 Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge under the Grand Orient of Italy, founded in 1877. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it transformed into a criminal, clandestine, anti-communist, anti-Soviet, anti-leftist, pseudo-Masonic, a ...

freemasonry group. Roberto Formigoni has been condemned for 1 year of imprisonment due defamation issues on 12 July 2012. Roberto Formigoni has been condemned due bribery on 25 July 2012 by Italian courts. On 12 February 2013 he has been investigated due criminal group activities. On 3 March 2014 Roberto Formigoni has been condemned for criminal association activities and bribery. On 15 April 2016 Roberto Formigoni has been condemned for 9 years and he has been considered by the Italian Courts "Boss of criminal group" due his tactical bribery attitudes that lasted more than 10 years while he managed more than 70 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

public money. Roberto Formigoni has been condemned due defamation of the Italian judge Alfredo Robledo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Formigoni, Roberto 1947 births Living people People from Lecco Italian Roman Catholics Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Italian People's Party (1994) politicians United Christian Democrats politicians Forza Italia politicians The People of Freedom politicians New Centre-Right politicians Popular Alternative politicians Deputies of Legislature X of Italy Deputies of Legislature XI of Italy Deputies of Legislature XII of Italy Senators of Legislature XV of Italy Senators of Legislature XVI of Italy Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy Presidents of Lombardy Members of the Italian Senate from Lombardy MEPs for Italy 1984–1989 MEPs for Italy 1989–1994 Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni Communion and Liberation Heads of government who were later imprisoned Italian politicians convicted of crimes