Vincenzo "Enzo" Amendola (born 22 December 1973) is an Italian politician of the Democratic Party (PD). On 5 September 2019, Amendola was appointed Minister for European Affairs in the Conte II Cabinet.

Early life and career

Amendola was born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in 1973. During the 1990s Amendola joined the Left Youth (SG), the youth wing of the Democrats of the Left (DS), the main

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

party in Italy. In 1998, he was appointed SG's responsible for foreign affairs as well as vice president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), of which he was elected secretary general in 2001.

Political career

In 2006, Amendola was appointed in the national secretariat of the Democrats of the Left, and in November 2006, he was elected regional secretary of DS for

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

. Together with the majority of DS members, in 2007 Amendola joined the Democratic Party (PD), the new centre-left party, born from the union between DS and The Daisy. In October 2009 he won the primary election to become regional secretary of the PD for Campania, a position that he held until 2014. In the 2013 general election Amendola was 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 ...

for the Campania constituency. As a deputy, he was appointed in the Foreign Affairs Commission, where he was elected leader of the PD's group. In June 2013, PD's acting secretary, Guglielmo Epifani, appointed Amendola in the national secretariat, as coordinator of regional secretaries. In December 2013, Matteo Renzi became the new party's leader and Amendola was not confirmed in the secretariat; however, after only few months, many members of Renzi's board was appointed ministers in his newly formed government, thus Amendola was re-appointed in the secretariat as responsible for Foreign and European Affairs in September 2014. He was also responsible for relations with the Party of European Socialists. On 29 January 2016, Amendola was appointed undersecretary to 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's cabinet, a position that he held until 1 June 2018, serving under the premiership of Paolo Gentiloni too. In both governments, he had been responsible for Italians abroad and for environmental and energy policies. During his term he often accompanied the President of the Republic,

Sergio Mattarella Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...

, on international state visits. The 2018 general election resulted in a historic defeat for the PD and Amendola, who ran for the Senate of the Republic, did not succeed in being elected. On 15 June 2019, the new party's leader, Nicola Zingaretti, appointed Amendola party's responsible for Foreign Affairs.

Minister of European Affairs

In August 2019 tensions grew within the populist government, leading to the issuing of a motion of no-confidence on Prime Minister

Giuseppe Conte Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) sin ...

by the League. After Conte's resignation, the national board of the PD officially opened to the possibility of forming a new cabinet in a coalition with the M5S, based on pro-Europeanism,

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without environmental degradation, degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological econ ...

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

, fight against economic inequality and a new immigration policy. The party also accepted that Conte may continue at the head of a new government, and on 29 August President

formally invested Conte to do so. On 5 September, Amendola was appointed new Minister of European Affairs. From 17 to 21 July 2020, Amendola took part, along with Prime Minister Conte, in one of the longest

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

s in history. After days of harsh confrontations, the European leaders agreed on a new proposal by the President of the Council, Charles Michel, which provided a budget of €750 billion for the so-called Recovery Fund, composed of €390 billion in grants and €360 billion in loans. Italy would benefit from nearly €82 billion in grants and €127 billion in loans.

Other activities

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

(ECFR), Member of the Council * Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), Member of the Board

Personal life

On 24 June 2013, Amendola married Karima Moual, an Italian journalist with Moroccan ancestry, with whom he has two children.Il ministro Vincenzo Amendola: "Nel Pd tante vittime di Renzi"
Corriere della Sera

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amendola, Vincenzo 1973 births Living people Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Politicians from Naples Government ministers of Italy Conte II Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XVII of Italy