Nicola Zingaretti

Nicola Zingaretti (Italian pronunciation: [niˈkɔːla dziŋɡaˈretti]; Rome, October 11, 1965) is an Italian politician and current president of Lazio since 2013.
He previously served as National Secretary of PDS youth federation (1991–1995), member of the Rome City Council (1991–1993), international relations spokesman of DS (1998–2000), Member of the European Parliament (2004–2008) for The Olive Tree centre-left cartel and Regional Secretary of the Democratic Party of Lazio (2007–2008). From 2008 to 2013 he served a full term as president of the province of Rome. He is a member of the Democratic Party of Italy and the younger brother of actor Luca Zingaretti.

First political experiences

He began his commitment in associations taking part in the peace movement in 1982.

At seventeen years old is one of the founders of the anti-racist association "Nero e non solo", committed to immigration politics and in a multicultural and multiethnic society.

Belonging to the ranks of the Italian Communist Party, in 1991 he was elected National Secretary of Democratic Party of the Left youth federation (Sinistra Giovanile) and in the following year he was a member of the Rome Municipale Council. Those were years of commitment to sustainable development and environmental protection, against the Mafia, during which he organized the first Antimafia youth camp in San Vito Lo Capo and numerous initiatives in memory of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

From 1995 to 1997 he was President of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) and Vice President of the Socialist International. In these years, he was committed to rebuild the network with the parties and with the democratic and progressive youth organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 1998, when he was thirty-tree years old, he joined the Commission to draw up the Socialist political platform for the new century, "Global Progress", chaired by Felipe González and made, among others, by Martine Aubry, Shimon Peres and Ricardo Lagos. He was also committed for the peace process between Israel and Palestine, organizing many initiatives to promote dialogue between young Israeli Labour Party and the youth of "Fatah".

From 1998 to 2000 he was international relations spokesman of Democrats of the Left and in 1998 he organized the Congress of European Socialists, in Milan. In 1999 with a Democrats of the Left delegation (also with Walter Veltroni) he went to Burma in support of the National League for Democracy and met the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi. The same year he organized the journey of the Dalai Lama in Rome.

In 2000 he was elected Secretary of Democrats of the Left in Rome. In the following year he was one of the promoters of the candidacy of Walter Veltroni for Mayor of Rome, contributing to his victory.

He is among the protagonists of a season of important results for the left-wing and for the Democrats of the Left: in 2003, after eight years, they become again the largest party in the capital city, defeating the right-wing in the whole province of Rome.

Member of the European Parliament

In March 2004 he was candidate with the Uniti nell'Ulivo's list for the European Parliament. The campaign ended with a victory and with 213 000 preferences he was elected Member of the European Parliament. During the first meeting of the Italian delegation he was appointed President. He was a member of the Committee on Development and Committee on International Trade. He also took part in the interparliamentary delegations for relations with the Korean Peninsula, Israel and in the parliamentary intergroup "Volunteer", "Disability", "The rights of homosexual persons" and "Tibet".

From 2005 to 2007, he was rapporteur for the European Parliament on the directive IPRED2 about criminal sanctions for the protection of intellectual property rights; he succeeded in pushing through a bill which made uniform the criminal sanctions in all EU Member States. The directive opposes criminal penalties for counterfeiters who import illegal and dangerous goods from countries outside the EU. The approval of the directive had a recognition by the International Herald Tribune and a MEP Award nomination, a prestigious honor that is given annually to the most deserving MEP's.

On November 18, 2006 he was elected Regional Secretary of Democratic Party of Italy for Lazio; in October 14, 2007 he was elected Regional Secretary of Democratic Party for Lazio by primary election with 282,000 votes (85.31%).

President of the Province of Rome

On April 28, 2008 Zingaretti was elected President of the Province of Rome winning 51.48% of the vote

President of Lazio

Following an embezzlement scandal that caused the resignation of the President of Lazio, Renata Polverini, who was backed by Silvio Berlusconi, Zingaretti won the early regional election held on February 26, 2013 winning 1,329,643 votes (40.65%).