Gian Luca Galletti (born 15 July 1961) 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 ...

, member of the Christian democratic

Centrists for Europe Centrists for Europe (; CpE) is a Christian-democratic political party in Italy. The party was launched, as Centrists for Italy (; CpI), by splinters from the Union of the Centre in December 2016 and officially founded, with its final name, in F ...

. He has been

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of a ...

since 22 February 2014, serving in the centre-left cabinets of

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

and

Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...

Biography

Gian Luca Galletti was born in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1961; he attended the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

and graduated in

Economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

Commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

. In 1969 he started working as

tax advisor A tax advisor or tax consultant is a person with advanced training and knowledge of tax law. The services of a tax advisor are usually retained in order to minimize taxation while remaining compliant with the law in complicated financial situations ...

and

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

. In 1999 he was elected in the city council of Bologna, as a member of the Christian democratic Union of the Centre; from 1999 to 2004 he served as assessor of budget in the cabinet of Giorgio Guazzaloca, the sole centre-right mayor that ruled Bologna since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 2005 he was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

in the Legislative Assembly of

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

; in 2006 he was elected for the first time at the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the upper house being the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform ...

, in the centre-right coalition. He was re-elected in 2008. In 2009, he was a candidate for the presidency of the Bologna Province, gaining 4.6% of votes; while the following year, he ran as UDC candidate to the Presidency of

, however, Galletti arrived only fourth behind the centre-left governor

Vasco Errani Vasco Errani (born 17 May 1955) is an Italian politician. He was a founding member of the Democratic Party (PD), which he has left on 22 February 2017, to join Article 1 – Democratic and Progressive Movement, a party founded by the former PD ...

, the centre-right candidate

Anna Maria Bernini Anna Maria Bernini (born 17 August 1965) is an Italian politician, lawyer, and university professor. She has been elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies and Italian Senate, Senate of the Republic, and has served ...

and the Five Star Giovanni Favia. During the campaign he announced his support to

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

, which has been a long-time debate in Italy. On 26 April 2012, Galletti was elected leader of the Union of Centre in the Chamber of Deputies, replacing his political mentor

Pier Ferdinando Casini Pier Ferdinando Casini (; born 3 December 1955) is an Italian politician. He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), President of the Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006. Casini is the honorary president of the Centrist Democra ...

. In the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

in the following year, Galletti ran in the coalition

With Monti for Italy With Monti for Italy () was an electoral coalition of political parties in Italy, formed for the 2013 general election to support the outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti and his reform plans. Its platform was based on Monti's manifesto titled "C ...

, led by incumbent Prime Minister

Mario Monti Mario Monti (; born 19 March 1943) is an Italian politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a Technocratic government (Italy), technocratic government in the wake of the European sov ...

, a centrist technocrat, but he did not succeed in being elected. However, after few months he was appointed undersecretary to the Education Ministry, in the

Enrico Letta Enrico Letta (; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republ ...

's government.

Minister of the Environment

On 22 February 2014, when the new secretary of the Democratic Party,

, forced Letta to resign and became the new prime minister, Galletti was appointed by him as Minister of the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea. His nomination was harshly criticized by many green associations due to his support to nuclear power; Monica Frassoni, a former MEP, accused Galletti of being only known as the "tax advisor of

". During the Italian rotating presidency of the EU Council in 2014, he led to the modification of the European legislation on

GMO A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...

s, allowing each state to have decision-making autonomy on the cultivation of genetically modified organisms on its territory. During the same period, he advised the council of EU towards a more restrictive regulation on the use of single-use shopping bags. G7 Environment Bologna

In September, he approved the plan to build the

Trans Adriatic Pipeline The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP; ; ; ) is a natural gas pipeline operational since 2020, running from Greece through Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy. It is the final section of the Southern Gas Corridor originating in Azerbaijan. , capaci ...

(TAP), a pipeline project to transport

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

, starting from

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

via

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

to Italy and further to Western Europe. This project was heavily opposed by the

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

n governor

Michele Emiliano Michele Emiliano (born 23 July 1959) is an Italian politician and former judge. He is the incumbent president of Apulia Region since June 2015, and he previously served as mayor of Bari from 2004 to 2014. Emiliano has often been considered a pop ...

. In November and December 2015, Galletti participated in the UN Climate Change Conference in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, better known as COP 21. The conference brought a global agreement on the reduction of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, the text of which represented a consensus of the representatives of the 196 parties attending it. On 12 December 2016, when Renzi resigned as prime minister after the

constitutional referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

, Galletti was confirmed as Environment minister by the new prime minister

. In the run-up of the constitutional referendum the Union of the Centre chose to campaign for "No", while Galletti, Casini and other centrist deputies were among the keenest supporters of "Yes". After the referendum, Casini, Galletti and Gianpiero D'Alia launched a new party, known as

. Galletti decided not to run in the 2018 general election, which then saw a large defeat of the centre-left coalition, to which his new party as part of the

Popular Civic List The Popular Civic List (, CP) was a centrist coalition of political parties in Italy. Its leader is Beatrice Lorenzin, minister of Health from 2013 to 2018 and member of Popular Alternative. History CP participated in the 2018 general electio ...

belonged, (although Casini was reelected) and a plurality for the centre-right led by the populist

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...

, but also a strong showing for the anti-establishment

Five Star Movement The Five Star Movement ( , M5S) is a political party in Italy, led by Giuseppe Conte. It was launched on 4 October 2009 by Beppe Grillo, a political activist and comedian, and Gianroberto Casaleggio, a web strategist. The party is primarily d ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galletti, Gian Luca 1961 births Living people Politicians from Bologna Union of the Centre (2002) politicians Centrists for Europe politicians Ministers of the environment of Italy Deputies of Legislature XV of Italy Deputies of Legislature XVI of Italy Renzi Cabinet University of Bologna alumni