Luca Zaia

Luca Zaia (born 27 March 1968) is an Italian politician, who has been President of Veneto since 2010, and a historical member of Lega Nord, other than being the most progressive member of his own party. Supporter of initiatives to tackle climate change, gender-affirming surgery, the recognition of transgender people to identify with their preferred sex, and main protagonist of the fight against homophobia and antisemitism, he often rose to prominence for his positions contrasting the lines of his own party, in particular for the ones concerning the welcoming of immigrants and his model of "integrazione diffusa" (a redistributive framework where immigrants' quota are spread across municipalities) of migrants coming to Europe.

Prior to that, Zaia was President of the Province of Treviso from 1998 to 2005, Vice President of Veneto from 2005 to 2008 and Minister of Agriculture in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet from 2008 to 2010.

Son of Giuseppe and Carmela Lisetto, after graduating from the Oenological School of Conegliano, he graduated in Animal Production Sciences at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Udine. After starting with the graduation party organized by him, for twelve years he worked as a PR for various discos in his area such as the "Manhattan" of Godega di Sant'Urbano, the "Diamantik" of Gaiarine, the "Kolossal" of Spresiano or the "Desiree" in Caorle, in addition to various other jobs, including "the waiter, the cleaner, the bricklayer, the private chemistry teacher, the horse riding instructor, the worker in a leather company.

He has been married since 1999 to Raffaella Monti, a company secretary; the couple has no children.

Luca Zaia joined Liga Veneta–Lega Nord in the early 1990s, after having met Gian Paolo Gobbo, and was first elected to public office in 1993, when he became municipal councillor of Godega di Sant'Urbano. Two years later, in 1995, he successfully ran for provincial councillor and, after the election, was appointed provincial minister of Agriculture.

In the 1998 provincial election, Zaia was elected President of the Province of Treviso with 60.0% of the vote in the second round, after arriving ahead in the first round with 41.4% and refusing to accept the support of any other party other than his own. At the time, he was the youngest provincial president of Italy. In 2002 he was re-elected with a landslide 68.9% of the vote in the second round and continued to govern the province with the sole support of his party.

In May 2005, Zaia was appointed Vice President of Veneto and regional minister of Agriculture and Tourism in Giancarlo Galan's third government, but left in May 2008 in order to take office as federal minister of agriculture in Berlusconi IV Cabinet.

In December 2009, The People of Freedom (PdL) determined that the coalition candidate in the 2010 regional election would be a member of Lega Nord. Subsequently, the national council of Liga Veneta (LV) nominated Zaia for president of the region.