Sergio Cofferati (born 30 January 1948) is an Italian trade unionist and politician. Secretary general of CGIL from 1994 to 2002, Mayor of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

for the

Democrats of the Left The Democrats of the Left ( it, Democratici di Sinistra, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. The DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger of th ...

from 2004 to 2009 and

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) from 2009 to 2019, elected as a candidate of the Democratic Party.

Early life and career

Cofferati was born at

Sesto ed Uniti Sesto ed Uniti ( Cremonese: ) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about northwest of Cremona. Sesto ed Uniti borders the following municipalities: Acqua ...

, in the province of Cremona. Initially an employee of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

's Pirelli and a member of CGIL, Cofferati rose up in the major Italian trade union, becoming leader of Filcea (the

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...

labour wing of CGIL) in 1988, and Secretary General of the CGIL itself in 1990, succeeding

Bruno Trentin Bruno Trentin (9 December 1926 – 23 August 2007) was an Italian trade unionist and politician, General Secretary of Italian General Confederation of Labour from 1988 to 1994. Biography Trentin was born in Pavie, France, where his parents liv ...

. He led the CGIL until 2002, after having obtained some relevant triumphs such as negotiating the reform of pensions in 1995, and opposing the change of article 18 of the "workers' statute", a 1970 bill, which protects employees in the event of illegitimate, unjust and discriminatory dismissal. In 2004, Cofferati was elected as Mayor of

, replacing Giorgio Guazzaloca. In 2008, he decided not to run for his second term as mayor.

Member of the European Parliament, 2009–2019

In 2009 Cofferati was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

as a Member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. He first served on the

Committee on Employment and Social Affairs The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) is a committee of the European Parliament. It is responsible for issues of employment and social policy, including labour rights, social security, inclusion, free movement for workers and pensio ...

(2009-2012) before moving to Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection in 2012. In 2016, he also joined the Parliament's temporary Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA) that investigated the Panama Papers revelations and tax avoidance schemes more broadly. In addition to his committee assignments, Cofferati was one of the vice-chairs of the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas. He is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Western Sahara; the European Parliament Intergroup on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights; and the MEP Heart Group, a group of parliamentarians who have an interest in promoting measures that will help reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).Supporters
MEP Heart Group.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cofferati, Sergio 1948 births Living people Politicians from the Province of Cremona Mayors of Bologna Democratic Party (Italy) MEPs MEPs for Italy 2009–2014 21st-century Italian politicians Democrats of the Left politicians MEPs for Italy 2014–2019 Italian Left politicians Italian trade unionists