Mario Mauro (born 24 July 1961) 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 ...

politician and a university teacher of history. He is the former

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, having served in the

Letta Cabinet The Letta government was the 62nd government of the Italian Republic. In office from 28 April 2013 to 22 January 2014, it comprised ministers of the Democratic Party (PD), The People of Freedom (PdL), Civic Choice (SC), the Union of the Centre ...

from 2013 to 2014. From 1999 to 2013, he was a

member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

and he is a member of the

movement

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 ...

Early life and education

Mauro was born in

San Giovanni Rotondo San Giovanni Rotondo is the name of a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia and region of Apulia, in southern Italy. San Giovanni Rotondo was the home of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina from 28 July 1916 until his death on 23 September 1968. T ...

on 24 July 1961. He studied literature and philosophy at the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (English: ''Catholic University of the Sacred Heart'', colloquially the ''Catholic University of Milan''), known as UCSC or UNICATT or simply Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 19 ...

(UCSC) in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and received a degree in 1985.

Career

Mauro began his career as teacher in southern Italy after graduation and until 1999 he continued to serve as a teacher and established establish the Public Social Services University Research Centre. He was first elected to

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 ...

in 1999 with the PPE-DE group. From 1999 to 2004 he was vice president for the education and culture commission. On 2 July 2004, he was elected one of the 14 vice presidents of the parliament. His tenure as vice president lasted until 2009. In June 2009, he was elected again to the parliament. He assumed the post of the leader of the Italian centre-right MEPs for the period of 2009–2013. In addition to his position as European Parliamentary, he held the following positions: representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) against racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with reference to discrimination against Christians from 2009 to 2011, and adjunct professor at the European University of Rome from 2007 to 2009. In 2013, Mauro resigned from

Il Popolo della Libertà 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 ...

and joined

Civic Choice Civic Choice ( it, Scelta Civica; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his polit ...

(SC). He was elected senator on

With Monti for Italy With Monti for Italy ( it, Con Monti per l'Italia) was an electoral coalition of political parties in Italy, formed for the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti and his reform plans. Its platform was based ...

's lists, a coalition between Civic Choice, Union of the Centre and

Future and Freedom Future and Freedom ( it, Futuro e Libertà), whose full name was Future and Freedom for Italy (''Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia'', abbreviated to FLI), was a political party in Italy, comprising both liberal and national conservative elements. F ...

. He was elected the leader of SC parliamentary group in the Senate. He was replaced in the European Parliament by

Susy De Martini Professor Isabella 'Susy' De Martini (born 17 June 1952 in Genoa) is an Italian politician and academic. Former member of PDL, from 12 April 2013 to 25 May 2014 she was a Member of the European Parliament, representing North-West Italy. De Martin ...

. On 28 April 2013, Mauro was sworn in as defense minister in the grand coalition cabinet of

Enrico Letta Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014, leading a grand coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties. Since March 2021, Letta has been secretary ...

. After internal rifts inside the Civic Choice party, Mauro left it in November 2013 and launched the new

Populars for Italy Populars for Italy ( it, Popolari per l'Italia, PpI) is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy led by Mario Mauro, minister of Defence in Letta Cabinet and, previously, long-serving MEP for Forza Italia. History The party was launched i ...

Personal life

Mauro is married to Giovanna, they have two children, Francesca Romana and Angelo.

References

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauro, Mario 1961 births Living people People from San Giovanni Rotondo The People of Freedom politicians Civic Choice politicians Populars for Italy politicians Italian Ministers of Defence Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy Politicians of Apulia Letta Cabinet Forza Italia MEPs The People of Freedom MEPs MEPs for Italy 1999–2004 MEPs for Italy 2004–2009 MEPs for Italy 2009–2014 Italian academics

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links