Benedetto Della Vedova (

Sondrio Sondrio (; ; ; archaic or ; ) is an Italian city, ''comune'' and administrative centre for the province of Sondrio, located in the heart of the Valtellina. , Sondrio counted approximately 21,876 inhabitants. In 2007, Sondrio was named the Alpine ...

, 3 April 1962) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. A keen pro-Europeanist, Della Vedova is currently president of Forza Europa (FE) and has been secretary of

More Europe More Europe ( or ''+Europa''; +E or +Eu) is a liberal and pro-European political party in Italy, part of the centre-left coalition and member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. History Foundation More Europe was laun ...

(+EU),Più Europa, Della Vedova eletto segretario
/ref> the latter comprising FE and the

Italian Radicals The Italian Radicals (, RI) are a liberal and libertarian political party in Italy. The party draws inspiration form 19th-century classical radicalism and the Radical Party. The RI are a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Eur ...

. He has held public office multiple times.

Biography

Della Vedova, a long-time

Radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

, started to be active in politics in 1994, when he followed

Marco Pannella Marco Pannella (born Giacinto Pannella; 2 May 1930 – 19 May 2016) was an Italian politician, journalist and activist. He was well known in his country for his nonviolence and civil rights' campaigns, like the 1974 Italian divorce referendum, ...

, founder and leader of the Radical Party and the

Transnational Radical Party The Transnational Radical Party (TRP), whose official name is Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT), is a political association of citizens, members of parliament and members of government of various national and politic ...

, into the

Pannella List The Pannella List (, LP) is a liberal and libertarian association, which was also the electoral list of the Italian Radicals between 1992 and 1999, when it was replaced by the Bonino List. Its standard-bearer was Marco Pannella (who died in 2 ...

, of which he was briefly secretary. During his career, Della Vedova was

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...

for the Bonino List (1999–2004) – the electoral successor of the Pannella List –, candidate for

President of Lombardy The president of Lombardy is the supreme authority of Lombardy, the most populated region of Italy. Election Originally appointed by the Regional Council of Lombardy, since 1995 '' de facto'' and 2000 ''de jure'', the president is elected by po ...

(2000), president of the

(2001–2003), founder and president of the Liberal Reformers (2005–2009) – which was then re-booted as Libertiamo –, member of 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 ...

for

Forza Italia (FI; ) was a centre-right liberal-conservative political party in Italy, with Christian democratic,Chiara Moroni, , Carocci, Rome 2008 liberalOreste Massari, ''I partiti politici nelle democrazie contempoiranee'', Laterza, Rome-Bari 2004 (esp ...

(2006–2008),

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later t ...

(2008–2011) and

Future and Freedom Future and Freedom (), whose full name was Future and Freedom for Italy (''Futuro e Libertà per l'Italia'', abbreviated to FLI), was a list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy, comprising both liberal conservatism, liberal an ...

(2011–2013), member of 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 ...

for Future and Freedom (2013),

Civic Choice Civic Choice (; SC) was a centrist and liberal political party in Italy founded by Mario Monti. The party was formed in the run-up of the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Monti and continue his political agenda. In t ...

(2013–2015) and the

Mixed Group The mixed group (, GM) is a parliamentary group active in both houses of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. ...

(2015–2018), and under-secretary at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in Renzi Cabinet (2014–2016) and

Gentiloni Cabinet The Gentiloni government was the 64th government of the Italy, Italian Republic, in office from 12 December 2016 to 1 June 2018. The government was headed by Paolo Gentiloni, former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affair ...

(2016–2018). More specifically, from 2001 to 2003 Della Vedova was president of the Italian Radicals, a party launched after the defeat of the Bonino List in the 2001 general election. In 2003 he was the strongest challenger to

Daniele Capezzone Daniele Capezzone (born 8 September 1972) is an Italian journalist and former politician. From 14 July 2001 to 4 November 2006, he was secretary of the Italian Radicals, a Liberalism, liberal, pro-market economy, Libertarianism, libertarian pol ...

for the leadership of the party, on a platform based on

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

and the hidden proposal of joining

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

's centre-right

House of Freedoms The House of Freedoms (, CdL) was a major centre-right political and electoral alliance in Italy, led by Silvio Berlusconi. History The CdL was the successor of the Pole of Freedoms/ Pole of Good Government and the Pole for Freedoms. The former ...

coalition, but was soundly defeated. In 2005 he left the Italian Radicals, which, under the leadership of Pannella, Bonino and Capezzone, had decided to join forces with the Italian Democratic Socialists in the

Rose in the Fist The Rose in the Fist (, RnP) was a political alliance of parties in Italy. The RnP was composed of the Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI; a social-democratic party led by Enrico Boselli and Roberto Villetti), the Italian Radicals (RI; a lib ...

and support

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 ...

and his centre-left The Union, and launched the Liberal Reformers. In the 2006 general election Della Vedova was elected to the Chamber of Deputies on the list of

, Berlusconi's party and dominant force in the House of Freedoms. Re-elected to the Chamber in the 2008 general election, he later distanced himself from Berlusconi and the centre-right, joined Future and Freedom, was elected senator in the 2013 general election, switched to Civic Choice and was appointed in centre-left governments led by Democratic Prime Ministers. In 2017 Della Vedova launched Forza Europa and later, in the run-up of the 2018 general election, he was a founding member of More Europe, part of the

centre-left coalition The centre-left coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1995, when The Olive Tree was formed under the leadership of Romano Prodi. The centre-left coalition has ruled the c ...

. Having been defeated in the single-seat constituency of

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, he was appointed coordinator of More Europe. In January 2019 he was elected secretary at the party's founding congress. On 1 March 2021, he was appointed Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the Draghi Cabinet.

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Della Vedova, Benedetto 1962 births Living people People from the Province of Sondrio Italian Radicals politicians Liberal Reformers politicians The People of Freedom politicians Future and Freedom politicians Civic Choice politicians Deputies of Legislature XV of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy Senators of Legislature XVII of Italy Politicians of Lombardy Italian libertarians Italian Radicals MEPs MEPs for Italy 1999–2004 Bocconi University alumni