Pier Ferdinando Casini

Senator
Pier Ferdinando Casini
President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
In office
May 31, 2001  April 29, 2006
President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Preceded by Luciano Violante
Succeeded by Fausto Bertinotti
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
July 12, 1983  March 15, 2013
Member of the Senate
Assumed office
March 15, 2013
President of the Centrist Democrat International
Assumed office
2006
Personal details
Born (1955-12-03) December 3, 1955
Bologna, Italy
Nationality Italian
Political party UdC (since 2008)
UDC (2002-2008)
CCD (1994-2002)
DC (before 1994)
Religion Roman Catholic

Pier Ferdinando Casini (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛr ferdiˈnando kaˈzini]; born 3 December 1955) is an Italian politician.[1] He was President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006.[2] Casini is currently Honorary President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), President of the Christian Democratic International, and majority faction leader of the Union of the Centre (UdC).

Biography

Casini was born in Bologna and graduated with a degree in law. He was first elected in 1983 for the Christian Democracy party. In 1993, he was amongst the founders of the Christian Democratic Centre (CCD), which merged into Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC) in 2002. In 2001, after Silvio Berlusconi's victory in the general election, Casini was chosen by the newly formed parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies (the Italian lower house of parliament). Up to 2006, with his UDC, he was widely regarded as one of the primary members of the House of Freedoms, and sometimes spoken of as a possible successor to Berlusconi himself as leader of the coalition. However, as the campaign for the 2008 Italian elections began, Casini officially detached himself from Berlusconi, refusing to enter his 'People of Freedom' (PdL, name of the new party built on the House of Freedoms coalition), preferring to run alone. In a speech to his UDC party, Casini said that "not everyone is for sale", in a not so veiled statement about Berlusconi's political tactics. Casini ran on a purely 'centrist' platform, founding the new Union of the Centre party along with Savino Pezzotta's White Rose. After 2008, he remained in opposition. At the 2009 Administrative elections, alliances were decided on a local bases, sometimes with The People of Freedom, and sometimes with the Democratic Party.

Notes

After his divorce from Roberta Lubich (mother of his two daughters, Maria Carolina and Benedetta), he started dating and eventually moved in with Azzurra Caltagirone, daughter of the famous Roman entrepreneur and publisher Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone. Later they would have a daughter and married on 27 October 2007.

Political offices
Preceded by
Luciano Violante
President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
2001-2006
Succeeded by
Fausto Bertinotti
Italian Chamber of Deputies
Preceded by
Title jointly held
Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies

Legislatures: IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI
1983 - 2013

Succeeded by
Title jointly held
Italian Senate
Preceded by
Title jointly held
Member of the Italian Senate

Legislatures: XVII
2013 - Present

Incumbent
Party political offices
New title Secretary of the Christian Democratic Centre
1994–2001
Succeeded by
Marco Follini
Leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats
2002–present
Incumbent
Preceded by
José María Aznar
Co-President of the Christian Democrat International

Serving alongside Vicente Fox
2006–present

Preceded by
Luca Volontè
UDC

Group Leader at the Chamber of Deputies
2008–2012

Succeeded by
Gian Luca Galletti

References

  1. Mark Donovan,; Paolo Onofri (2009). Italian politics: frustrated aspirations for change. Berghahn Books. p. 100ff. ISBN 978-1-84545-638-2. Retrieved 24 November 2010..
  2. Pope John Paul II (26 November 2003). "MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II TO HON. MR PIER FERDINANDO CASINI, PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES". Vatican. Retrieved 24 November 2010.

External links

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