Paola De Micheli (born 1 September 1973) is an Italian manager and politician 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), who served as Minister of Infrastructure and Transport in the government of Prime Minister

Giuseppe Conte Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) sin ...

from 2019 until 2021; she was the first woman to hold the office.

Early life and education

De Micheli graduated in political sciences at the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univ ...

in Milan and worked as a manager in the agri-food industry.

Political career

Early beginnings

De Micheli's first elective role was as municipal councilor of

Pontenure Pontenure ( egl, label= Piacentino, Pontnür ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southeast of Piacenza. Pontenure borders the following ...

from 1999 to 2004. In 2007, she joined the

(PD). From 2007 to 2010 she was municipal minister for Human and Economic Resources in

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

. In the

2008 Italian general election A snap election was held in Italy on 13–14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved the Italian Parliament on 6 February 2008, following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January ...

, De Micheli was elected 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 ...

and during the

2009 PD leadership election The 2009 Democratic Party leadership election was held in July–November 2009, following the resignation of Walter Veltroni in February 2009, after 16 months as secretary of the Democratic Party (PD), a political party in Italy. Pier Luigi Bersa ...

, she supported

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 ...

, later elected secretary, who appointed her as new party manager for

small and medium-sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...

. Once re-elected

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

at the

2013 Italian general election The 2013 Italian general election was held on 24 and 25 February 2013 to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective members of the Senate of the Republic for the 17th Italian Parliament. The centre-left alliance ...

, De Micheli has been appointed

Undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

of the

Ministry of Economy A ministry of economy, ministry of commerce, ministry of economic affairs or department of commerce is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the economy or economic policy. List Examples of such mini ...

in the

Renzi Cabinet 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 ...

and the

Gentiloni Cabinet The Gentiloni government was the 64th government of the Italian Republic, in office from 12 December 2016 to 1 June 2018. The government was headed by Paolo Gentiloni, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Renzi government. The government ...

, holding the seat from 2014 to 2017. In September 2017, De Micheli left her office at the

to replace

Vasco Errani Vasco Errani (born 17 May 1955) is an Italian politician. He was a founding member of the Democratic Party (PD), which he has left on 22 February 2017, to join the Democratic and Progressive Movement, a party founded by the former PD left-wing ...

as new Commissioner for the reconstruction of the areas hit by the 2016 and 2017 earthquakes. De Micheli was re-elected for the third time to the Chamber of Deputies at the

2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315 elective membe ...

. During the 2019 PD leadership election, she supported

Nicola Zingaretti Nicola Zingaretti (; born 11 October 1965) is an Italian politician who served as President of Lazio and was Secretary of the Democratic Party from March 2019 until March 2021. During the 1990s, he was a prominent European youth leader, servi ...

; once Zingaretti was elected Secretary, De Micheli's name came out as new possible Deputy Secretary of the PD.

Minister of Infrastructure and transport

On 5 September 2019, De Micheli was appointed Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, in the government of

, who led a coalition between Democrats and 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 ...

.Paola De Micheli, chi è il nuovo Ministro delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti
/ref>

References

External links

*Files about her parliamentary activities (in Italian)
XVIXVIIXVIII
legislature. {{DEFAULTSORT:Micheli, Paola De 1973 births Living people People from Piacenza Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore alumni Transport ministers of Italy Conte II Cabinet Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy 20th-century Italian women politicians 21st-century Italian women politicians Women government ministers of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIX of Italy Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)