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Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi OMRI (Italian: [roˈmaːno ˈprɔːdi] ⓘ; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the founder of the Italian centre-left and one of the most prominent figures of the Second Republic. He is often nicknamed Il Professore ("The Professor") due to his academic career.
A former professor of economics and international advisor to Goldman Sachs, Prodi ran as lead candidate of The Olive Tree coalition, winning the 1996 election and serving as prime minister until losing a vote of confidence 1998. He was subsequently appointed President of the European Commission in 1999, serving until 2004. Following the victory of his new coalition, The Union, over the House of Freedoms led by Silvio Berlusconi, at the 2006 election, Prodi became prime minister a second time. On 24 January 2008, he lost a vote of confidence in the Senate and consequently tendered his resignation as prime minister to President Giorgio Napolitano; he continued in office for almost four months for routine business until early elections were held and a new government was formed. Prodi was the first left-leaning candidate to finish first in an Italian general election since 1921.
In 2007, Prodi became the founding president of the Democratic Party. In 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon selected Prodi as president of the African Union–United Nations peacekeeping panel. Since 2021, he is serving as the United Nations Special Envoy for the Sahel.
Prodi was born in Scandiano, near Reggio Emilia, in 1939; he is the eighth of nine children. His father, Mario Prodi, was an engineer who grew up in a peasant family, and his mother, Enrichetta, was an elementary school teacher. Most of the brothers are, or have been, university professors, among them Giovanni Prodi (professor of mathematical analysis), Vittorio Prodi (professor of physics and member of the European Parliament), Paolo Prodi (professor of modern history), Franco Prodi (professor of atmospheric physics), and Giorgio Prodi (professor of general pathology).
In 1969, Prodi married Flavia Franzoni, at that time a student, who later became an economist and university professor. The couple was married by Camillo Ruini, now a well-known cardinal. They have two sons, Giorgio and Antonio. His wife, Flavia, died on 13 June 2023 at the age of 76.
After completing his secondary education at the Liceo Ludovico Ariosto in Reggio Emilia, Prodi graduated in law at Milan's Università Cattolica in 1961 with a thesis on the role of protectionism in the development of Italian industry. He then carried out postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics.
Prodi has received almost 20 honorary degrees from institutions in Italy, and from the rest of Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.
On 25 November 1978, Prodi was appointed Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Crafts in the government of the Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti. Even if he was a party member, Prodi was widely considered a technical minister. As minister, he promoted a law, known as Prodi law, which aimed a regulating of the extraordinary state administration procedure for the rescue of large enterprises in crisis.
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Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi OMRI (Italian: [roˈmaːno ˈprɔːdi] ⓘ; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the founder of the Italian centre-left and one of the most prominent figures of the Second Republic. He is often nicknamed Il Professore ("The Professor") due to his academic career.
A former professor of economics and international advisor to Goldman Sachs, Prodi ran as lead candidate of The Olive Tree coalition, winning the 1996 election and serving as prime minister until losing a vote of confidence 1998. He was subsequently appointed President of the European Commission in 1999, serving until 2004. Following the victory of his new coalition, The Union, over the House of Freedoms led by Silvio Berlusconi, at the 2006 election, Prodi became prime minister a second time. On 24 January 2008, he lost a vote of confidence in the Senate and consequently tendered his resignation as prime minister to President Giorgio Napolitano; he continued in office for almost four months for routine business until early elections were held and a new government was formed. Prodi was the first left-leaning candidate to finish first in an Italian general election since 1921.
In 2007, Prodi became the founding president of the Democratic Party. In 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon selected Prodi as president of the African Union–United Nations peacekeeping panel. Since 2021, he is serving as the United Nations Special Envoy for the Sahel.
Prodi was born in Scandiano, near Reggio Emilia, in 1939; he is the eighth of nine children. His father, Mario Prodi, was an engineer who grew up in a peasant family, and his mother, Enrichetta, was an elementary school teacher. Most of the brothers are, or have been, university professors, among them Giovanni Prodi (professor of mathematical analysis), Vittorio Prodi (professor of physics and member of the European Parliament), Paolo Prodi (professor of modern history), Franco Prodi (professor of atmospheric physics), and Giorgio Prodi (professor of general pathology).
In 1969, Prodi married Flavia Franzoni, at that time a student, who later became an economist and university professor. The couple was married by Camillo Ruini, now a well-known cardinal. They have two sons, Giorgio and Antonio. His wife, Flavia, died on 13 June 2023 at the age of 76.
After completing his secondary education at the Liceo Ludovico Ariosto in Reggio Emilia, Prodi graduated in law at Milan's Università Cattolica in 1961 with a thesis on the role of protectionism in the development of Italian industry. He then carried out postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics.
Prodi has received almost 20 honorary degrees from institutions in Italy, and from the rest of Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.
On 25 November 1978, Prodi was appointed Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Crafts in the government of the Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti. Even if he was a party member, Prodi was widely considered a technical minister. As minister, he promoted a law, known as Prodi law, which aimed a regulating of the extraordinary state administration procedure for the rescue of large enterprises in crisis.