Roberto Gualtieri (born 19 July 1966) is an Italian historian, academic and politician of the Democratic Party (PD), incumbent Mayor of Rome since 2021 and Minister of Economy and Finances in the second government of Giuseppe Conte from 2019 until 2021.[1] He previously was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019, where he chaired the influential Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee within the Parliament from 2014 until 2019.[2]

Roberto Gualtieri
46th Mayor of Rome
Assumed office
21 October 2021
Preceded byVirginia Raggi
Minister of Economy and Finance
In office
5 September 2019 – 13 February 2021
Prime MinisterGiuseppe Conte
Preceded byGiovanni Tria
Succeeded byDaniele Franco
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
5 March 2020 – 4 November 2021
ConstituencyRome – Trionfale
Member of the European Parliament
In office
14 July 2009 – 5 September 2019
ConstituencyCentral Italy
Personal details
Born (1966-07-19) 19 July 1966 (age 58)
Rome, Italy
Political partyPCI (1985–1991)
PDS (1991–1998)
DS (1998–2007)
PD (since 2007)
Other political
affiliations
S&D
SpouseValentina Castaldi
Children1
EducationSapienza University of Rome

Early life and career

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Gualtieri was born in Rome in 1966. In 1992 he graduated in Literature and Philology at Sapienza University of Rome.[3] In 1997, he obtained a Ph.D. in history at the Scuola Superiore di Studi Storici di San Marino.[4] Gualtieri later became professor of Contemporary history at Sapienza University of Rome, where he had authored several books and articles on twentieth century Italian history and on the history of European integration.[5]

Political career

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Since 2001, Gualtieri has been deputy director of the Gramsci Institute Foundation.[6] In the same year, he became a member of Democrats of the Left (DS), the main social-democratic political party in Italy, direct heir of the Italian Communist Party.

In 2006, Gualtieri was among the founders of the Democratic Party (Congress of Orvieto, October 2006) and he was among the "wise men" who wrote its Manifesto.[7] In 2007 he was elected to the National Assembly of the party and since 2008 he has been a member of its National board, where he was confirmed in 2014.[8] Gualtieri voted against party leader Matteo Renzi in favour of post-communists both in 2013 and 2014 (the year Renzi won the leadership ballot).[9]

From 2008 to 2011, Gualtieri served as director (with José Luis Rhi-Sausi) of the "Annual Report on European Integration" (published by Il Mulino).[10] Since 2009, he is a member of the editorial committee of the Foundation "Italianieuropei" .

Member of the European Parliament

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In 2009, Gualtieri was appointed S&D Group coordinator for the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) and standing rapporteur for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) budget in the Committee on Budgets (BUDG). He was also a full member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) and substitute of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET).[2] In 2010, he was appointed S&D Group negotiator within the EP negotiating team (with Elmar Brok and Guy Verhofstadt) on the creation of the European External Action Service.[11] In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the parliament's delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly between 2009 and 2014.

 
Gualtieri as a MEP in 2014

In December 2011, Gualtieri was part of the European Parliament negotiating team (with Brok, Verhofstadt and Daniel Cohn-Bendit) for the establishment of the "Fiscal Compact".[12] In October 2012, he was designated "sherpa" negotiator for the European Parliament (with Brok, Verhofstadt and Cohn-Bendit) in the working group set up by Herman Van Rompuy on a Genuine Economic and Monetary Union.[13] In 2013 he was co-rapporteur of the Report on constitutional problems of a multitier governance in the European Union with Rafał Trzaskowski.[14] In 2013, he participated in the elaboration of the new Treaty for the European Union, with Brok, Verhofstaft, Cohn-Bendit, Andrew Duff and Jo Leinen, promoted by the "Spinelli Group", of which he is a member.[15]

From 2013, Gualtieri was member of the Spinelli Group in the European Parliament,[15] and he has been among the authors of the "Fundamental Law of the European Union" (with Elmar Brok, Guy Verhofstadt, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Andrew Duff and Jo Leinen), published by the Bertelsmann Foundation.

Gualtieri led the EU-Election Observer Missions for the parliamentary election in Kosovo in 2014[16] and the 2013 municipal elections in Kosovo.

Following his re-election as an MEP in July 2014, Gualtieri was elected Chairman of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.[17] On the committee, he served as rapporteur of several files, among which the Annual Banking Union report, statistical files, including the appointments of heads and board members of the European Central Bank, the Single Resolution Board, the European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. He chaired the EP Financial Assistance Working Group, established in 2016 to monitor the implementation of third Greek financial assistance program, and the Committee's Banking Union Working Group.

From 2016, Gualtieri was also a member of the Committee of Inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion. In addition, he was a member of the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue (TLD),[18] the European Parliament Intergroup on Integrity (Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime)[19] and of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights.[20]

 
Roberto Gualtieri in Estonia, 2017

From 2017, Gualtieri served on the Parliament's so-called Brexit Steering Group, which works under the aegis of the Conference of Presidents and to coordinates Parliament's deliberations, considerations and resolutions on the UK's withdrawal from the EU.[21] Within group, he was – together with Guy Verhofstadt and Elmar Brok – one of the Parliament's representatives at the European Council Sherpa meetings on Brexit.

Following the 2019 elections, Gualtieri was part of a cross-party working group in charge of drafting the European Parliament's five-year work program on economic and fiscal policies as well as trade.[22]

Shortly after, Gualtieri was elected vice-chair of the S&D Group, under the leadership of chairwoman Iratxe García.[23]

Minister of Economy and Finance

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Gualtieri with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin

In August 2019 tensions grew within the populist government, leading to the issuing of a motion of no-confidence on Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte by the League.[24] After Conte's resignation, the national board of the PD officially opened to the possibility of forming a new cabinet in a coalition with the M5S,[25] based on pro-Europeanism, green economy, sustainable development, fight against economic inequality and a new immigration policy.[26] The party also accepted that Conte may continue at the head of a new government,[27] and on 29 August President Sergio Mattarella formally invested Conte to do so.[28] On 5 September 2019 Gualtieri was appointed Minister of Economy and Finance.[29]

On 26 January 2020, Gualtieri was picked by the centre-left coalition as its candidate at the incoming by-election in the constituency of Rome Quartiere Trionfale for the Chamber of Deputies. The by-election follows the resignation of Paolo Gentiloni from his seat in the Chamber after his appointment as European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs in the von der Leyen Commission.[30]

In July 2020, Gualtieri, along with Prime Minister Conte and Minister Vincenzo Amendola, played a key role in one of the longest European Councils in history. After days of harsh confrontations,[31] the European leaders agreed on a new proposal by the President of the Council, Charles Michel, which provided a budget of €750 billion for the so-called Recovery Fund, composed of €390 billion in grants and €360 billion in loans.[32] Italy would benefit from nearly €82 billion in grants and €127 billion in loans.[33][34]

In January 2021, the centrist party Italia Viva withdrew its support for Conte's government.[35] Although Conte was able to win confidence votes in the Parliament in the subsequent days, he chose to resign after failing to reach an absolute majority in the Senate.[36] When negotiations to form Conte's third cabinet failed, the former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, formed a national unity government, in which Gualtieri was not confirmed as minister.[37]

Mayor of Rome

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On 9 May 2021, Gualtieri officially announced his candidacy as Mayor of Rome in the upcoming election.[38] On 18 October, he defeated the centre-right candidate, Enrico Michetti, with 60.2% of votes.[39] He took office on 21 October 2021.[40]

Political positions

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Gualtieri is a social democrat and often describes himself as a Keynesian.[41]

In 2016, the magazine Politico ranked Gualtieri as number 8 among 40 most influential MEPs.[42]

Personal life

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Gualtieri is married and he has a son.[43] He was once a semi-professional bossa nova musician who accompanied Brazilian singer Rosalia de Souza when she performed in Italy.[9]

Other activities

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European Union institutions

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International organizations

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Non-profit organizations

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  • New Pact for Europe, Member of the Advisory Group[49]

Electoral history

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Election House Constituency Party Votes Result
2009 European Parliament Central Italy PD 81,329  Y Elected
2014 European Parliament Central Italy PD 71,378  Y Elected
2019 European Parliament Central Italy PD 67,389  Y Elected
2020 Chamber of Deputies RomeTrionfale PD 20,304  Y Elected

First-past-the-post elections

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2020 Italian by-election (C): RomeTrionfale
Candidate Party Votes %
Roberto Gualtieri Centre-left coalition 20,304 62.2
Maurizio Leo Centre-right coalition 8,508 26.1
Rossella Rendina Five Star Movement 1,422 4.4
Others 2,388 7.3
Total 32,622 100.0

References

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  1. ^ "Roberto Gualtieri, ministro dell'Economia del governo Conte bis". Repubblica.it. 4 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Home | Deputati | Parlamento Europeo". www.europarl.europa.eu.
  3. ^ "Curriculum vitae | Roberto GUALTIERI | Deputati | Parlamento Europeo". www.europarl.europa.eu. 19 July 1966.
  4. ^ "‹ allievi ‹ Università degli Studi di San Marino".
  5. ^ "ESMA conference examines the state of European financial markets". www.esma.europa.eu. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Fondazione Istituto Gramsci". Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Partito democratico, pronto il Manifesto "Ci impegniamo a nascere nel 2008" - Politica - Repubblica.it". www.repubblica.it.
  8. ^ "Direzione nazionale, i membri | Partito Democratico". Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  9. ^ a b Panichi, James (5 February 2015). "Roberto Gualtieri: assertive historian". POLITICO.
  10. ^ "Fondazione Istituto Gramsci". Archived from the original on 26 November 2014.
  11. ^ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/budg/ad/855/855083/855083it.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "MEP Roberto Gualtieri appointed chief negotiator for S&D Group on Van Rompuy Paper on European Monetary Union". Socialists & Democrats.
  14. ^ "REPORT on constitutional problems of a multitier governance in the European Union - A7-0372/2013". www.europarl.europa.eu.
  15. ^ a b "Gruppo Spinelli: questa Ue non funziona, si passi a una federazione europea - Eunews". 4 October 2013.
  16. ^ Toby Vogel (May 28, 2014), EU observers arrive in Kosovo European Voice.
  17. ^ "Gualtieri nuovo presidente Commissione affari economici e monetari del Parlamento - Eunews". 7 July 2014.
  18. ^ 2017-2019 Members of the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue (TLD) European Parliament.
  19. ^ Members of the European Parliament on Integrity (Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime) European Parliament.
  20. ^ Members Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights.
  21. ^ Brexit Steering Group European Parliament.
  22. ^ Florian Eder (June 13, 2019), POLITICO Brussels Playbook, presented by Google: Madrid’s moment — Parliament working groups sneak peak[sic — Happy birthday, GDPR] Politico Europe.
  23. ^ The S&D Group elects its new Bureau S&D Group, press release of June 19, 2019.
  24. ^ Horowitz, Jason (20 August 2019). "Italy's Government Collapses, Turning Chaos Into Crisis". The New York Times.
  25. ^ Giuffrida, Angela (20 August 2019). "Italian PM resigns with attack on 'opportunist' Salvini". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  26. ^ "Governo, Zingaretti: "I 5 punti per trattare con il M5S. No accordicchi, governo di svolta"". Repubblica.it. 21 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Conte wins crucial support for new Italian govt coalition". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Il Presidente Mattarella ha conferito l'incarico al Prof. Conte di formare il Governo". Quirinale (in Italian). Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  29. ^ "Chi è Roberto Gualtieri, il nuovo ministro dell'Economia". Il Post. 4 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Gualtieri candidato del centrosinistra a Roma - Politica". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 26 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  31. ^ Fondi Ue, Conte a Rutte: "Se crolla mercato ne risponderai". La bozza di Michel: 400 miliardi di aiuti e 350 di prestiti, la Repubblica
  32. ^ EU leaders agree on €1.82T budget and coronavirus recovery package, Politico Europe
  33. ^ Recovery fund, intesa raggiunta su 750 miliardi. All’Italia 36 in più: 82 a fondo perduto e 127 di prestiti. Conte: “Momento storico, ora ripartire con forza”, Il Fatto Quotidiano
  34. ^ Conte: «Soddisfatti dell'accordo, giornata storica per Ue e Italia», Il Messaggero
  35. ^ Crisi di governo, Renzi ritira le ministre Bonetti e Bellanova. Conte: “Grave responsabilità di Italia viva, danno al Paese. Mai sottratto al confronto ma terreno era minato”, Il Fatto Quotidiano
  36. ^ Conte si dimette e tenta il ter (senza chiudere la porta a Renzi), Il Sole 24 Ore
  37. ^ Mario Draghi giura al Quirinale con tre minuti di anticipo, Huffington Post
  38. ^ La battaglia per il Campidoglio, Gualtieri si candida a sindaco di Roma: "Farò le primarie". Conte: "M5S compatto su Raggi", la Repubblica
  39. ^ Elezioni sindaco Roma, Gualtieri al 60%, Adnkronos
  40. ^ "Roma, Roberto Gualtieri proclamato sindaco: oggi passaggio di consegne con Virginia Raggi". Sky TG24. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  41. ^ Manovra, Gualtieri: “Salvini è scappato per non farla, servono 14 miliardi”
  42. ^ The 40 MEPs who actually matter in 2016 - 8 Roberto Gualtieri.
  43. ^ Roberto Gualtieri: moglie, figli, età, biografia del ministro dell'economia, The Italian Times
  44. ^ Board of Governors European Investment Bank (EIB).
  45. ^ Board of Governors European Stability Mechanism.
  46. ^ Board of Governors Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
  47. ^ Board of Governors European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
  48. ^ Board of Governors International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  49. ^ Advisory Group New Pact for Europe.
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Political offices
Preceded by Italian Minister of Economy and Finance
2019–2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Rome
2021–present
Incumbent