Who is the President of Italy?

The President of Italy

introduces

Giorgio Napolitano is the President of Italy. He became the 11th president of Italy on 2006 May 15.

Italy is a Parliamentary Republic. It has a 'president of the council of ministers' (prime minister - head of government - premier) and a 'president of the republic', both appointed by the parliament. The Prime Minister is currently Silvio Berlusconi.

The President of the Italian Republic (Italian: Presidente della Repubblica) is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years.[1]

The current President of the Republic is Giorgio Napolitano, elected at the fourth ballot on 10 May 2006. He became the 11th President of the Italian Republic on 15 May 2006.

11th President of Italy
Incumbent

• Assumed office - 15 May 2006
• Prime Minister  -Romano Prodi    
•                            -Silvio Berlusconi
• Preceded by - Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

Minister of the Interior

• In office - 17 May 1996 – 21 October 1998

• Prime Minister - Romano Prodi
• Preceded by - Giovanni Rinaldo Coronas
• Succeeded by - Rosa Russo Jervolino

President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies

• In office - 3 June 1992 – 14 April 1994
• Preceded by - Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
• Succeeded by - Irene Pivetti

Lifetime Senator

• In office - 23 November 2005 – 15 May 2006

Personal details

• Born -29 June 1925 (age 86) ,Naples, Province of Naples, Italy
• Nationality -Italian
• Political party -Italian Communist Party, Democrats of the Left
• Spouse(s) -Clio Maria Bittoni
• Children - 1. Giulio Napolitano  - 2. Giovanni Napolitano
• Residence -Quirinal Palace, Rome, Italy
• Alma mater -University of Naples Federico II
• Profession -Politician
• Religion -Atheist

Incumbent

• Giorgio Napolitano
• since 15 May 2006
• Residence: Quirinal Palace
• Term length: Seven years
• Inaugural holder: Enrico De Nicola
• Formation: 1 January 1948

ROME
Giorgio Napolitano is the first former Communist to ascend to Italy's top job - president of the republic - crowning a political life that has spanned half a century and been marked by a moderate stance.

Napolitano was elected president by Italy's Parliament on Wednesday in the fourth round of voting. He was the candidate supported by Romano Prodi's center-left coalition, and one of his first acts as head of state will be to give Prodi the mandate to form a government.

The 80-year-old, who has served as senator-for-life, is known for his understatement, gentle manners and moral rigor. His credentials include stints as parliament speaker and interior minister.

As a member of what was once the West's largest communist party, his position often veered from orthodoxy: He sought dialogue with Italian and European socialists to end his party's isolation, and was an early supporter of European integration. During the first Gulf War, he spoke out against the withdrawal of Italy's small contingent, as advocated by the party's leader.

It was a radical change of position for a man who, at the time of the 1956 Russian invasion of Hungary, had hailed the suppression as necessary, according to Italian daily Corriere della Sera. But his reformist views were what in the end made his name.

"He's a real statesman, he's fair-minded, he's a true believer in democracy, a friend of the United States and he will carry out his office with impartiality and fairness," Richard Gardner, the U.S. Ambassador to Italy from 1977 to 1981, told AP Television News.

"I urge that the Bush White House not see this as the election of a Communist, but see this as the election of a good man who can be counted on to carry out his function in a way which will please the United States," said Gardner, who arranged secret meetings with Napolitano during his stint in Rome, at a time when any public meetings would have been seen as embarrassing for both parties.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Italian communists embarked on a course that would eventually lead to changing the party's name and dropping the hammer-and-sickle symbol, Napolitano was among the strongest supporters of the reform. He has been a member of the reformed party, which is now called Democrats of the Left and is the biggest in Prodi's coalition.

"He was the least communist Communist that the party has ever enlisted," wrote daily La Stampa. Another newspaper, La Repubblica, described him as an "anti-ideologue" and a "socialist bourgeois."

A native of Naples, Napolitano fought against the Nazis and Fascists during World War II. At the end of the war he joined the Communist Party and in 1953 he was elected to the Italian parliament - a job he would keep for 10 consecutive legislatures.

An expert in international relations with an interest for European affairs, Napolitano was considered his party's "foreign minister." In 1989, he traveled to the United States with the party secretary for the first visit ever by a leader of Italy's communists.

But his top government job to date was as interior minister, in the 1996-1998 government headed by Romano Prodi. Napolitano was then the first former communist at the helm of the Interior Ministry, a post that commands the country's police forces and had been traditionally held by Christian Democrats.During his stint, he was criticized for failing to respond quickly to a wave of thousands of Albanian refugees coming to Italian shores. He took a strong stance against the right-wing Northern League party, which at the time was advocating secession for the country's affluent north.

Other top jobs included a tenure as speaker of the lower house of parliament between 1992 and 1994 - years of heightened tensions in Italy amid corruption scandals. For five years until 2004, he was a member of the European Parliament, serving as chairman of its committee on constitutional affairs.

Last year, his predecessor, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, made him a senator for life, one of Italy's greatest honors.

Supporters praise his balanced attitude and elegant manners - which combined with the fact that he is often said to look like Italy's last king earned him the nickname of "Red Prince." Critics point to what they see as excessive caution and lack of political courage.

A well-respected intellectual and lecturer, Napolitano has held conferences at U.S. universities, including Yale and Harvard. His essays have covered subjects ranging from the Italian Communist Party to relations between Europe and the United States.

He recently published his memoirs, called "From the Italian Communist Party to European socialism. A political autobiography."

Election

The President of the Republic is elected by Parliament in joint session of the Chamber and the Senate, integrated with 58 representatives appointed by the twenty Italian regions: three representatives of each region (except for the Aosta Valley, which gets only one representative) in such a way as to guarantee representation to local autonomies and minorities.
According to the Italian Constitution, the election must be held in the form of secret ballot, with the 315 Senators, the 630 Deputies and the 58 regional representatives allowed to cast their votes.
To achieve the maximum consensus for an institution intended to guarantee the upholding of the constitution, in the first three ballots a two-thirds vote is required. After that, a majority suffices.
The election is conducted by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who has the authority to proceed to the public counting of the votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years.
The vote is held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, with the capacity of the building being expanded for the purpose.
The President takes office after having taken an oath before Parliament, and delivering to it a presidential address.

Presidential mandate

The President’s term lasts seven years; this prevents any president from being elected by the same Houses, which have a five-year mandate, and grants some freedom from excessive political ties to the appointing body.

In addition to the natural end, the mandate can be stopped by:

• Voluntary resignation;
• Death;
• Permanent inability, due to serious illness;
• Dismissal for crimes of high treason and attack on the Constitution.

Former Presidents of the Republic are called Presidents Emeritus of the Republic and shall be appointed Senator for life.
In the absence of the President of the Republic, including travel abroad, its functions have been performed by the President of the Senate.

Qualifications for office

• Italian citizenship
• At least 50 years old
• Not barred from holding political office

Role

The Constitution of Italy lays out the duties and powers of the President of the Republic, which in detail are:
in relation to external representation:

• Accrediting and receiving diplomatic functionaries;
• Ratifying international treaties, upon authorization of Parliament (if needed according to article 80 of the Constitution);
• Making official visits abroad, accompanied by a member of the government;
• Declaring a state of war, deliberated by Parliament;

in relation to the exercise of jurisdiction:

• Presiding over the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura ("Superior Judicial Council");
• Naming one third of the Constitutional Court;
• Granting pardons and commutations.
• The Constitution provides that every presidential act must be countersigned by a Minister or the President of the Council, as most of its acts are only formal, and political responsibility is upon the government. Pardons and commutations have been recognised as autonomous powers of the President, not subject to countersignature.

in relation to the exercise of parliamentary functions:

• Nominating up to five senators-for-life;
• Sending messages to the Chambers, calling them to extraordinary session and dissolving them;
• Calling elections and fixing the date for the first meeting of the new Chambers;

in relation to the executive function and of political guideline:

• Naming the prime minister of Italy after elections, and on proposal of the latter, the ministers;
• Accepting the oath of the government, and its eventual resignation;
• Emanating laws by decree proposed by the government alone; without transposition in ordinary law by the Parliament, they remain valid only for 60 days;
• Naming certain high state functionaries;
• Presiding over the Consiglio Supremo di Difesa ("Supreme Defense Council"), and commanding the armed forces;
• Decreeing the dissolution of regional councils and the removals of presidents of regions;

in relation to legislative functions:

• Authorizing the presentation in Parliament of proposed decrees on the part of the government;
• Promulgating the laws approved in Parliament;
• Remanding to the Chambers, with an explanation, and asking for reconsideration (only once for each bill);

in relation to popular sovereignty:

• Calling referenda;

Residence

The President resides in Rome at the Quirinal Palace, and also has at his disposal the presidential holdings of Castelporziano, near Rome, and Villa Rosebery, in Naples.