Maria Elisabetta Casellati (; born 12 August 1946) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

lawyer and politician. She was

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Italian Senate from 2018 to 2022. She was the first woman ever to have held this position. Casellati is a long-time member of the

liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

party Forza Italia and served as Undersecretary of Health and Justice in previous governments. In 2022, she was nominated as candidate for

President of Italy The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...

by the centre-right coalition.

Early life

Born in

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

in the year 1946, to noble parents of Calabrian origins. Her father was a partisan during the Second World War. She graduated with a degree in law at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...

. She was subsequently a university researcher at the University of Padua. She also practiced the profession of matrimonial lawyer in Padua. For many years, she also worked as a professional lawyer along with her husband, Gianbattista Casellati. She is mother of two children, writer and bicycle advocate Ludovica Casellati and conductor Alvise Casellati.

Political career

Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati datisenato 1994

Previously a member of the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party ( it, Partito Liberale Italiano, PLI) was a liberal and conservative political party in Italy. The PLI, which is the heir of the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor part ...

, she joined Forza Italia (FI), the liberal-conservative party founded by

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 f ...

. She held key posts within the party. In March 1994, she was elected to the Italian Senate in the general election, for the

single-member constituency A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vot ...

Cittadella Cittadella ( vec, Sitadeła) is a medieval walled city in the province of Padua, northern Italy, founded in the 13th century as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is in circumference with a diameter of around ...

, near

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. During the 12th Legislature, Casellati served as a secretary of Forza Italia's parliamentary group in the Senate and also as a president of the Health Commission. Casellati was not re-elected in 1996 snap election and was defeated by the Lega Nord candidate by just a few votes. From 1999 to 2000, she served as provincial commissioner of Forza Italia for Rovigo. Following the 2001 general election, Casellati returned to the Senate for the constituency of Padua. During the 14th Legislature, she served as vice-leader of Forza Italia in the Senate. On 30 December 2004, Casellati was appointed undersecretary to Health in Berlusconi's second cabinet. She also held this office in Berlusconi's third cabinet, until 16 May 2006. She was re-elected again in the 2006 general election, which saw a narrow victory for the centre-left party of

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 Pr ...

; Casellati was confirmed vice-leader of her party in the Senate. The 2008 election featured a strong showing by Berlusconi's new party

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 ...

and his centre-right coalition; Casellati was re-elected in the Senate and served as undersecretary for Justice from 12 May 2008 to 16 November 2011, when the conservative Prime Minister was forced to resign amid financial crisis and public protests. In the 2013 general election, Casellati was elected to the multi-member constituency of

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. However, on 15 September 2014 she was elected by the Parliament in joint session to the High Council of the Judiciary (CSM), where she remained as a member until returning to the Senate in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

with the revived Forza Italia. At the CSM she served as president of the Third Commission for access to the judiciary and for mobility from October 2016 until her resignation.

President of the Senate

On 24 March 2018 she was elected President of the Senate, becoming the first woman to hold this position. She was supported by her own party, the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

Brothers of Italy Brothers of Italy ( it, Fratelli d'Italia, FdI) is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Italy. It is led by Giorgia Meloni, the incumbent Prime Minister of Italy and the first woman to serve in the position. Acco ...

and the Five Star Movement. On 18 April 2018 she was given an exploratory mandate by President

Sergio Mattarella Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician, jurist, academic and lawyer who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. A Christian leftist politician, Mattarella was a leading member of the Christian Democracy par ...

to try and reconcile the issues between the centre-right coalition and the Five Star Movement (M5S), in order to break the post-election political deadlock and form a fully functional new government. However, she failed in finding a solution to the disputes between the parties, especially between the M5S and Forza Italia. On 27 October 2021 she agreed on allowing a secret vote on a law that would have extended Italy's already existing hate speech and hate crime statutes to cover hate based on

ability Abilities are powers an agent has to perform various actions. They include common abilities, like walking, and rare abilities, like performing a double backflip. Abilities are intelligent powers: they are guided by the person's intention and exec ...

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

and gender identity (Italian law currently covers racial-based and religion-based hatred only), by using a provision in the Italian Senate rule of procedures code that is meant to be enacted only when voting on named individuals. This resulted in having the law proposal being voted down, and barred similar provisions from being proposed again in the six months following the vote.

Political views

Casellati has described herself as a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

; she has often stressed her strong opposition to

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

and has signed a bill to abolish law 194 on the voluntary interruption of

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

, describing

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

as "a very serious mistake, which flirts with the culture of death." She is also in favour of the reopening of brothels and the subsequent abolition of the Merlin law. Casellati strongly opposed the Cirinnà law, promoted by the centre-left government 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 bee ...

, which recognized

same-sex union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

s in Italy, stating that "family is not an extensible concept and the state cannot equate marriage and civil unions." She also added "any parity between marriages and civil unions would be a blurring of non-overlapping models." Following the approval of the law on 13 May 2016, she gave an interview stating that she believed that the Cirinnà law discriminated against heterosexual couples. During the 2020

International Day Against Homophobia International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia is observed on May 17 and aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. By ...

, she stated that "any type of sexual discrimination is something to be considered intolerable and shameful in a modern society. Fighting homophobia and promoting respect is something no one—families, society, working places, politics and institutions—can shy away from". She supports the

chemical castration Chemical castration is castration via anaphrodisiac drugs, whether to reduce libido and sexual activity, to treat cancer, or otherwise. Unlike surgical castration, where the gonads are removed through an incision in the body,

for those guilty of

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

, saying in 2008 that "chemical castration is a path to follow as it is not a violent imposition on those who have committed aberrant offenses, but the administration of a drug that lowers sexual impulses." She supported the Bossi–Fini law, which introduced criminal sentences for those illegally entering Italy; she declared that "only those who have the opportunity to live and keep themselves in dignity should be able to come to Italy." On 15 March 2013, she presented a law for the abolition of the IMU, the real estate tax promoted by Mario Monti's technocratic government in 2011. She is a strong supporter of the flat tax and when she became president of the Senate, she stated that the priority for Italy was a tax reform to support families and businesses.

Electoral history

First-past-the-post elections

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casellati, Elisabetta Politicians of Veneto Living people 1946 births People from Rovigo People of Calabrian descent University of Ferrara alumni Pontifical Lateran University alumni 20th-century Italian lawyers 21st-century Italian lawyers Italian women lawyers Italian Liberal Party politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Forza Italia politicians Forza Italia (2013) politicians The People of Freedom politicians Women government ministers of Italy 21st-century Italian women politicians 20th-century Italian women politicians Candidates for President of Italy Presidents of the Italian Senate Senators of Legislature XII of Italy Senators of Legislature XIV of Italy Senators of Legislature XV of Italy Senators of Legislature XVI of Italy Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy Senators of Legislature XVIII of Italy 20th-century women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers University of Padua faculty Women legislative speakers Forza Italia (2013) senators Meloni Cabinet Government ministers of Italy Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)