Francesco Lollobrigida

Francesco Lollobrigida
Lollobrigida in 2022
Minister of Agriculture
Incumbent
Assumed office
22 October 2022
Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni
Preceded byStefano Patuanelli
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 March 2018
Personal details
Born (1972-03-21) 21 March 1972 (age 52)
Tivoli, Lazio, Italy
Political partyBrothers of Italy (since 2012)
Other political
affiliations
  • MSI (before 1995)
  • AN (1995–2009)
  • PdL (2009–2012)
Domestic partnerArianna Meloni
Children2
Alma materNiccolò Cusano University

Francesco Lollobrigida (born 21 March 1972) is an Italian politician who has been the minister of Agriculture since 22 October 2022. A leading member of the national-conservative Brothers of Italy, Lollobrigida is widely considered one of the closest allies of Giorgia Meloni.[1]

Early life, family and education

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Lollobrigida was born in Tivoli, Lazio on 21 March 1972. He is the grandnephew of actress Gina Lollobrigida, and the cousin of the Olympic speed skating silver medalist Francesca Lollobrigida.[2] He graduated in law from the Niccolò Cusano telematic university.[3]

His domestic partner is Arianna Meloni who is the sister of incumbent Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.[4] They have two daughters.[5]

Career

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During the 1990s, Lollobrigida started his involvement in politics within the Youth Front (FdG), the youth-wing of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). Until 1995, Lollobrigida served as provincial secretary of FdG for Rome. From 1997 to 1999, he served as leader of Student Action, a far-right student movement connected to National Alliance (AN), the MSI's heir. During this period, he also held various political positions at the provincial level, including municipal councilor in Subiaco (1996–2000), provincial councilor in Rome (1998–2003) and councilor for sport, culture and tourism in the municipality of Ardea (2005–2006).[3]

He run in the 2005 Lazio regional election, in support of incumbent President Francesco Storace, but he was not elected. On 5 July 2006, he was elected regional councilor in Lazio, taking over from Andrea Augello, elected to the Senate of the Republic in the 2006 general election. In 2008, he became provincial president of National Alliance for Rome and from 2010 to 2012 he held the same position in The People of Freedom (PdL).[6] On 17 April 2010, he was appointed councilor for mobility and transport in the Lazio regional government of Renata Polverini, a position he held until 12 March 2013.[7]

Since 2012, Lollobrigida is a member of the Brothers of Italy (FdI) and was elected as a deputy for Lazio region representing the party in the 2018 general election.[8] From June 2018 he served as its parliamentary group leader In the 2022 general elections he also won a seat in the Parliament.[3] He was appointed minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests on 22 October 2022 in the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.[6]

Controversy

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On 19 April 2023 Lollobrigida attracted criticism for his remarks to a trade union conference suggesting that "Italians are having fewer children, so we're replacing them with someone else. [We say] yes to helping births, no to ethnic replacement. That’s not the way forward."[9] Responding to his statement opposition politicians cited references to Italian fascist rhetoric of the 1930s. News reports set his remarks in the wider context of the racist Great Replacement theory.[10]

In November 2023, the Italian government banned lab-grown meat during his term as Agriculture minister. Critics fear that the ban might hurt animal welfare and the global climate.[11]

In the same month Lollobrigida was granted an "extraordinary stop" at Ciampino, on a high-speed-train that was 110-minutes-late, to inaugrate an urban park in Caviano.[12] [13] In response, he faced calls from the opposition to resign, Lollobrigida rejected the demands stating, "I asked for something like any other citizen. And I’m not resigning."[14]

Electoral history

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Election House Constituency Party Votes Result
2018 Chamber of Deputies Lazio 2 FdI –[a] checkY Elected
2022 Chamber of Deputies Lazio 2 FdI –[a] checkY Elected
  1. ^ a b Elected in a closed list proportional representation system.

References

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  1. ^ Emanuele Lauria (21 February 2023). "L'uomo chiave del governo: tutto su Lollobrigida, il cognato di Meloni (e non solo) ministro all'Agricoltura (e non solo)". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  2. ^ Luca Bucceri (19 April 2023). "Chi è Francesco Lollobrigida: da FdI al ministero dell'agricoltura e della sovranità alimentare con Meloni". Notizie.Virgilio.it (in Italian). Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Lollobrigida, Francesco". Treccani (in Italian).
  4. ^ "Arianna Meloni e l'amore per Francesco Lollobrigida: "Ci siamo incontrati al partito. Nozze? Vedremo"". Today (in Italian). 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ "La famiglia di Giorgia Meloni, dalla sorella Arianna alla mamma Anna". Sky TG24 (in Italian). 27 September 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b Laura Pellegrini (21 October 2022). "Chi è Francesco Lollobrigida, il cognato di Giorgia Meloni al ministero dell'Agricoltura". Trend Online (in Italian). Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Francesco Lollobrigida". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  8. ^ "XVIII Legislatura. Lollobrigida Francesco - FDI" (in Italian). Italian Parliament. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  9. ^ Barbie Latza Nadeau (19 April 2023). "Italian minister sparks fury for saying immigration leads to 'ethnic replacement'". CNN. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  10. ^ Sofia Bettiza; Laura Gozzi (19 April 2023). "Italian outcry over Lollobrigida 'ethnic replacement' remarks". BBC News. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  11. ^ Amy Kazmin; Giuliana Ricozzi (16 November 2023). "Italy bans lab-grown meat". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  12. ^ Borrelli, Silva (7 August 2024). "Train Delays Disrupt Italian Business and Tourist". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  13. ^ Tondo, Lorenzo (22 November 2023). "Italian minister allegedly forced high-speed train to make unscheduled stop". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  14. ^ Hülsemann, Laura (23 November 2023). "Italian minister engineers unscheduled stop by public train". POLITICO. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
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