Nuccio Cusumano (born Stefano Cusumano; October 16, 1948) is an Italian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

whose most recent political appointment was to the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

(April 26, 2006 – April 28, 2008) on the roster of the

UDEUR The Union of Democrats for Europe ( it, Unione Democratici per l'Europa, UDEUR), also known as UDEUR Populars (''Popolari UDEUR''), was a minor centrist, Christian-democratic political party in Italy. Led by Clemente Mastella, minister of Labour ...

party as one of thirty representatives for the

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

constituency. Born in

Sciacca Sciacca (; Greek language, Greek: ; Latin: Thermae Selinuntinae, Thermae Selinuntiae, Thermae, Aquae Labrodes and Aquae Labodes) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has vi ...

(

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

), he holds a law degree and has worked as an entrepreneur and as a journalist. In the course of his political career, he has held several government positions, including that of Undersecretary of State for the Treasury (then headed by

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician and banker who was the prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994 and the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006. Biography Education Ciampi was born i ...

) during the premiership of Massimo D'Alema, between 1998 and 1999. In 1994, as a member of the Italian People's Party (PPI), he helped then-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 ...

survive a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. He was one of four PPI senators who, against the instructions of their party, physically left the Senate room, rendering the house without a

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

. In 1999, while a junior Treasury Minister, he was arrested under allegations of corruption in relation to construction contracts for a hospital in Sicily. In 2007, the court in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

exonerated him completely. On 24 January 2008, in the

2008 Italian political crisis On 24 January 2008 Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi lost a vote of confidence in the Senate by a vote of 161 to 156 votes, causing the downfall of his government. Prodi's resignation led President Giorgio Napolitano to request the president of ...

, Cusumano supported Prime Minister

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 ...

in a confidence vote, again against the instructions of his party, UDEUR. Another UDEUR senator,

Tommaso Barbato Tommaso is an Italian given name. It has also been used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A * Tommaso Acquaviva d'Aragona (1600–1672), Roman Catholic prelate * Tommaso Aldrovandini (1653–1736), Italian painter of ...

, launched into a vicious verbal attack and had to be restrained from physically attacking Cusumano, who appeared to faint and was carried out of the house. Expelled from UDEUR because of his decision,«Cusumano si dissocia: voto sì. È bagarre»
he joined 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 ...

. As a candidate in the April 2008 elections, he was not re-elected.

References

External links

Personal page on Italian Senate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusumano, Stefano 1948 births Living people People from Sciacca Presidents of the Province of Agrigento Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Italian People's Party (1994) politicians Union of Democrats for Europe politicians Democratic Party (Italy) politicians 21st-century Italian politicians Senators of Legislature XI of Italy Senators of Legislature XII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIV of Italy Senators of Legislature XV of Italy Italian journalists Italian male journalists