Anna Finocchiaro Fidelbo (; born 31 March 1955) is an Italian politician. She was the Democratic Party's leader in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 2007 to 2013. She served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the cabinet of

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; 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 fo ...

from 1996 to 1998.

Biography

Born in

Modica Modica (; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains. It has 53,413 inhabitants. Modica has neolithic origins and it represents the historical cap ...

, Finocchiaro graduated in law in 1978, and she worked for the

Banca d'Italia The Bank of Italy (Italian language, Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', , informally referred to as ''Bankitalia'') is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Italy within the Eurosystem. It was the Italian central bank from ...

's branch in

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

before becoming a magistrate in

Leonforte Leonforte () is an Italian ''comune'' with a population of 14,046 in the Province of Enna, Sicily. The town is situated 22 km from Enna, in the centre of the Erean Mountains at 600 metres a.s.l. History The ancient settlement of Tabas ...

in 1982. She served as a magistrate until 1985, when she was appointed as a deputy

public prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

at the court of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

. She was first elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

as a member of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

; she was elected to Catania's council in 1988. Finocchiaro was later a member of both the

Democratic Party of the Left The Democratic Party of the Left (, PDS) was a democratic-socialist and social-democratic political party in Italy. Founded in February 1991 as the post-communist evolution of the Italian Communist Party, the party was the largest in the A ...

and the

Democrats of the Left The Democrats of the Left (, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. Positioned on the centre-left, the DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger ...

, and she was a founding member of the Democratic Party (PD) in 2007. Finocchiaro served as Minister for Equal Opportunities in the first cabinet of

from 1996 to 1998. She stood for the

for the first time in the 2006 Italian general election; she was named as the group chair of the Olive Tree coalition following her election. Finocchiaro was named the leader of the PD in the Senate following the party's creation in 2007 and was reconfirmed as leader following the

2008 Italian general election A snap election was held in Italy on 13–14 April 2008. The election came after President of Italy, President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved the Italian Parliament on 6 February 2008, following the 2008 Italian political crisis, defeat of the gov ...

. In 2008 she also stood unsuccessfully to be President of Sicily. After being under investigation by the Italian courts for abuse of office aggravated fraud, her husband was completely acquitted on all counts in 2018.Catania, indagato per abuso d’ufficio Fidelbo Melchiorre, marito di Anna Finocchiaro
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finocchiaro, Anna 1955 births Living people People from Modica Italian Communist Party politicians Democratic Party of the Left politicians Democrats of the Left politicians Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Government ministers of Italy Deputies of Legislature X of Italy Deputies of Legislature XI of Italy Deputies of Legislature XII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIV of Italy Senators of Legislature XV of Italy Senators of Legislature XVI of Italy Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy Politicians from the Province of Ragusa 21st-century Italian women politicians Women government ministers of Italy 20th-century Italian women politicians Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy) Women members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy)