Michele Emiliano
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Michele Emiliano (born 23 July 1959) 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 ...
and former
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
. He is the incumbent president of
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
Region since June 2015, and he previously served as mayor of
Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
from 2004 to 2014. Emiliano has often been considered a
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
and regionalist politician.


Early life and career

Emiliano's father was a professional football player and small business owner. In 1962, he moved with his family to
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
. In 1968, they returned to Bari. While growing up there, he spent time playing
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
thanks to his physical size. In 1983, Emiliano graduated in
Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
at the
University of Bari The University of Bari Aldo Moro ( it, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro) is a state-supported higher education institution founded in 1925 in Bari, Apulia, in Southern Italy. The university is one of the most prestigious universities in ...
. For some time, he worked as a trainee in a lawyer's office. In 1988, he married his current wife, Elena, with whom he had three children: Giovanni, Francesca and Pietro. At the age of 26, Emiliano quit the practice as a lawyer and passed the test to become a judge. He moved to
Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of ...
, where he worked in the public prosecutor's office and met
Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
and
Rosario Livatino Rosario Angelo Livatino (; October 3, 1952 – September 21, 1990) was an Italian magistrate who was killed by Stidda. Biography Livatino was born in Canicattì, in Sicily. After successfully completing high school, he entered the university La ...
. From 1990 to 1995, he worked at the Brindisi Public Prosecutor's Office and dealt with the fight against the
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
. In 1995, he returned to Bari as a deputy prosecutor of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA). He retained this post until 2003, when he became a member of the social-democratic party
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 ...
(DS) and run for mayor of Bari for the
centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition ( it, coalizione di centro-sinistra) is an political alliance, alliance of list of political parties in Italy, political parties in Italy active, under several forms and names, since 1995 when The Olive Tree (Italy), Th ...
.


Political career


Mayor of Bari

In the local elections, which took place on 12 and 13 June 2004, Emiliano was surprisingly elected mayor of Bari in the first round, beating the
centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...
candidate Luigi Lobuono with 53.8% of the votes. His civic list Emiliano List for Bari got a remarkable result and the largest number of elected representatives in the municipal council. In January 2005, he was appointed delegate of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) for policies for the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and, since 29 March 2007, coordinator of the mayors of metropolitan cities. In April 2007, he was also appointed Chairman of the Consortium for the Bari industrial development area. On 14 October 2007, Emiliano was elected regional secretary 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 ...
(PD) in Apulia, the new centre-left party, born from the union between the DS and
The Daisy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
(DL). Emiliano hold the office until 2009, when he became regional president of the PD, post that he would held until January 2014. Emiliano run again as mayor in the local elections of 6 and 7 June 2009, where he got 49.01% of the votes in the first round, with a gap of just over 6,000 votes on the centre-right candidate and former mayor of Bari Simeone Di Cagno Abbrescia (46.05%). He was confirmed mayor of Bari in the runoff on 21 and 22 June 2009 with 59.8% of votes and with a gap of almost 33,000 votes from his opponent. At the end of 2009, rumors rose up around Emiliano's candidacy at the head of centre-left candidate for the presidency of Apulia in the 2010 Apulian regional election. The Union of the Centre (UdC) refused to accept the candidacy of incumbent governor
Nichi Vendola Nicola "Nichi" Vendola (; born 26 August 1958) is an Italian left-wing politician and LGBT activist who was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies from Apulia from 1992 to 2005 and President of Apulia from 2005 to 2015. He is one of the first o ...
, a democratic socialist. UdC's leader
Pier Ferdinando Casini Pier Ferdinando Casini (; born 3 December 1955) is an Italian politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006. Casini is the honorary president of the Centrist Democrat International and the Inter-Parliamentary Un ...
proposed to the PD the candidacy of Emiliano, who initially refused; however, after a few days, under pressure from party's bigwigs like
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 ...
and
Pier Luigi Bersani Pier Luigi Bersani (; born 29 September 1951) is an Italian politician and was Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), Italy's leading centre-left party, from 2009 to 2013. Bersani was Minister of Industry, Commerce and Craftmanship from 1996 t ...
, Emiliano was forced to accept the candidacy. Emiliano agreed to carry out primary with Vendola, but he refused to resign as mayor of Bari, asking the
Regional Council of Apulia The Regional Council of Apulia (''Consiglio Regionale della Puglia'') is the legislative assembly of Apulia. It was first elected in 1970, when the ordinary regions were instituted, on the basis of the Constitution of Italy of 1948. Compositi ...
to change a regional law, which prevented incumbent mayors to run for regional governor while in office. Faced with the unavailability of the Regional Council to amend this law, Emiliano withdrew his candidacy and asked to the regional secretary of his party to directly appoint Vendola as the centre-left candidate. Nevertheless, the PD nominated Francesco Boccia to the primaries, where he was defeated by Vendola. Boccia's defeat led to the break-up of the electoral alliance in Apulia between the UdC and the PD. During his years as mayor, Emiliano promoted a new urban plan, with the aims of redevelop the municipal area especially in the suburbs, thanks to investments in the environmental and the transport sector.


President of Apulia

On 31 May, Emiliano won the
2015 Apulian regional election The Apulian regional election of 2015 were held on 31 May 2015.A ...
with more than 47% of votes, doubling the votes of the second candidate, Antonella Laricchia, of the
Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( it, Movimento 5 Stelle , M5S) is a political party in Italy. Its leader and president is Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 until 2021. The M5S was founded on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a comedian an ...
(M5S). In September 2016, Emiliano signed with the Prime Minister
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 ...
the so-called "Pact for Apulia" in order to release 2.7 billion euros from the Fund for Development and Cohesion (FSC) to be assigned to Apulia region for various investments in the territory. Among the social policies promoted, there was the Regional Income of Dignity, a
guaranteed minimum income Guaranteed minimum income (GMI), also called minimum income (or mincome for short), is a social-welfare system that guarantees all citizens or families an income sufficient to live on, provided that certain eligibility conditions are met, typical ...
for indigents. Despite the sign of the Pact for Apulia, Emiliano often criticized Prime Minister Renzi, who was also the leader of his own party, who was considered by Emiliano too
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
. He often implemented regional policies in contrast with those of the government. This contrast reached its peak at the 2016 Italian oil drilling referendum, which was promoted and supported by Emiliano and opposed by Renzi. During the referendum campaign, Emiliano repeatedly accused the government of having introduced the law to favor oil companies and Renzi accused the governor of having promoted the referendum only for personal purposes. Although 86% voted in favour of repealing the law, the turnout of 31% was below the
majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster2016 Italian constitutional referendum A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on 4 December 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved a constitutional law that amends the Italian Constitution to reform the composition and powers of the Parliament of Italy, as well as the d ...
, concerning the Renzi's Senate reform, Emiliano supported the "No", in open opposition to the line of his party. On 4 December, "No" won with 59% of votes and Renzi resigned as Prime Minister. On 21 February 2017, Emiliano announced his candidacy in 2017 PD leadership election, scheduled in April, where he would challenge Renzi. On 10 March, Emiliano presented his electoral programme with the slogans "We Are Party" (''Noi siamo partito'') and "Italy Is Our Party" (''L'Italia è il nostro partito''). He described his candidacy as a revolution, and stated that he wanted a party closer to the people, especially the poorest, accusing Renzi of drastically changing the PD and of abandoning people on low incomes. He also accused
Andrea Orlando Andrea Orlando (born 8 February 1969) is an Italian politician who served as minister of labour and social policies from 2021 to 2022 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Mario Draghi. From 2013 to 2018 he served as minister of the environment ...
, the other candidate who was Justice Minister also in
Renzi's government The Renzi government was the 63rd government of the Italian Republic, in office from February 2014 to December 2016. It was led by Matteo Renzi, secretary and leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). The government was composed of membe ...
, of supporting Renzi's
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
and centrist policies, and not to have ever opposed his reforms. Emiliano also added that he would not run to become Prime Minister, as Renzi did from February 2014 to December 2016. Emiliano asked for the M5S, Article One (Art.1),
Progressive Camp The Progressive Camp ( it, Campo Progressista, CP) was a left-wing political party in Italy. Its leader was Giuliano Pisapia, a former member of the Chamber of Deputies (1996–2006) for the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) and later mayor of ...
, and
Italian Left Italian Left ( it, Sinistra Italiana, SI) is a left-wing political party in Italy. SI was launched in November 2015 as a parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies (full name: Italian Left – Left Ecology Freedom), including Left Ecology Fr ...
(SI) supporters to vote for him to beat Renzi; his intention is to build a centre-left to left-wing alliance composed of PD, Art.1, and SI, which can cooperate with the M5S. Despite Emiliano's strong support in the poorer South, Renzi was elected by a landslide, receiving 69% of votes, against 20% of Orlando, and 11% of Emiliano. On 3 December 2018, following the
Constitutional Court of Italy The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic ( it, Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana) is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name ''Consulta'' is used as a metonym for it, because its sessi ...
's judgement that magistrates are ineligible for party membership, Emiliano announced that he would be resigning from the party.Michele Emiliano lascia il Pd: “Una scelta dolorosa ma inevitabile, me lo impone il mio ruolo di magistrato”
/ref>


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emiliano, Michele 1959 births Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Living people Presidents of Apulia Mayors of Bari