Maria Rosaria "Rosy" Bindi (; born 12 February 1951) is an

Italian politician The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly was electe ...

and the former President of the

Antimafia Commission The Italian parliamentary Antimafia Commission ( it, Commissione parlamentare antimafia) is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The first commission, formed in 1963, wa ...

Career

Born in

Sinalunga Sinalunga is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, in the Tuscany region of central Italy. History Aside from scanty prehistoric findings, the oldest historical remains date from the 8th century BC, when Sinalunga was perhaps an Etrusca ...

(

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

), she graduated in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. She was standing near the lawyer Vittorio Bachelet when he was assassinated by the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...

in 1980. She held the position of vice-president of

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. History In Italy in 1905, Azione Cattolica was established as a non-political lay organization under the dir ...

, the most popular Italian Catholic lay association, from 1984 to 1989, the year she joined the

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 ...

(DC) party. After the dissolution of the DC party, Bindi joined the Italian People's Party and became a leading figure in The Olive Tree, the broad left-to-centre coalition led by

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...

. Following the coalition's victory in the 1996 general election, she was named

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 ...

, a position she held also in the following governments led by

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 ...

. During her tenure at the Ministry of Health, through her circular "Circolare Bindi del 2 dicembre 1996",

electroshock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive th ...

was re-introduced in Italy to treat psychiatrised patients. It was later corrected by "Circolare Bindi del 15 February 1999" 'limiting' use of ECT in particular cases but without revoke it. In the 2001 general election she was elected for the third time to 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 ...

in the college of

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan 𐌂𐌖𐌓� ...

representing

Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy ( it, Democrazia è Libertà – La Margherita, DL), commonly known simply as The Daisy (''La Margherita''), was a centrist political party in Italy. The party was formed from the merger of three parties within ...

. After the victory of The Union in the

2006 Italian general election The 2006 Italian general election was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedo ...

, she became Minister for the Family, serving in that post until 2008. Bindi competed for the leadership of the Democratic Party in the party's founding leadership election, and received 12.93% of the vote cast. She continues to work for the party, leading the

Democrats Really Democrats Really (''Democratici Davvero'') is a faction within the Democratic Party (PD), a political party in Italy. The group, whose leader is Rosy Bindi, basically includes Christian left politicians and social democrats. They have been clo ...

faction.

Electoral history

First-past-the-post elections

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bindi, Rosy 1951 births Living people People from Sinalunga Italian Roman Catholics Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Italian People's Party (1994) politicians Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy politicians Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Italian Ministers of Health Deputies of Legislature XII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIV of Italy Deputies of Legislature XV of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy 21st-century Italian women politicians Women government ministers of Italy 20th-century Italian women politicians Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli alumni Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)