Lorenzo Fontana (born 10 April 1980) is an Italian politician and member of the

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 ...

(Lega), who is serving as

President of the Chamber of Deputies President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

since 14 October 2022. Fontana served as Minister of European Affairs in the

Conte I Cabinet The first Conte government was the 65th government of the Italy, Italian Republic. It was led by Giuseppe Conte, an Independent (politician), independent, and it was in office from 1 June 2018 to 5 September 2019. The cabinet was formed by a co ...

. He previously served as Minister of Family and Disability from 1 June 2018 to 10 July 2019, and as Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies from 29 March to 1 June 2018. He is also the Deputy Federal Secretary of Lega under the leadership of

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 ...

Early life

Lorenzo Fontana was born in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, in 1980. He graduated in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

, in

Christian history The history of Christianity began with the life of Jesus, an itinerant Jewish preacher and teacher, who was crucified in Jerusalem . His followers proclaimed that he was the incarnation of God and had risen from the dead. In the two millen ...

at the European University of Rome and in philosophy at the

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

. During the university, he joined the

Liga Veneta Liga Veneta (; ; abbr. LV), whose complete name is (), is a regionalist political party active in Veneto. The LV, whose ideology combines Venetian nationalism and support for fiscal federalism, was established in 1979 under the slogan "farthe ...

, the regional branch of

Lega Nord Lega Nord (LN; ), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing politics, right-wing, federalism, federalist, populism, populist and conservatism, conservative list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. In the run-up to the 201 ...

(LN), and in 2002 he was elected vice-secretary of the Young Padanians Movement, the League's youth wing. Fontana is married and has one daughter. He is a fervent

traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). ...

and regularly attends the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in ...

. His spiritual counsellor is Father Vilmar Pavesi who is a well-known

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

and an opponent of

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

, and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

Political career

After being elected to

city council, he was elected to 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 ...

with 52,136 votes during the

2009 European Parliament election in Italy The 2009 European Parliament election in Italy was held on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2009, as decided by the Italian government on 18 December 2008. Italy elected 72 members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Electoral system The party-li ...

. In 2012, he was the head of the League's group in the European Parliament. From 2009 to 2014, he was also vice-president of the

European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education The Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) is a Committees of the European Parliament, committee of the European Parliament. Responsibilities of the committee This committee has focused on the well-being of all members of the human race and ...

. During the 8th legislature, he was also the supervisor of the cooperation deal between

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

and

Europol Europol, officially the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU). Established in 1998, it is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and serves as the central hub for coordinating c ...

. Fontana was re-elected to the

2014 European Parliament election in Italy The 2014 European Parliament election in Italy took place on 25 May 2014. Italy elected 73 Member of the European Parliament, MEPs out of 751 European Parliament seats. The governing Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party (PD) won the elect ...

, gaining 27,240 votes and becoming a member of the

European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is a committee of the European Parliament that is responsible for protecting civil liberties and human rights, as listed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. ...

(LIBE) and of the Delegation for Relations with

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

(D–IQ). On 26 February 2016, he was appointed by

as Deputy Federal Secretary of the League, a position that he held together with

Giancarlo Giorgetti Giancarlo Giorgetti (; born 16 December 1966) is an Italian politician and prominent member of the League, of which he became deputy secretary in 2016. Since October 2022, Giorgetti has served as Minister of Economy and Finance in the governme ...

. On 8 July 2017, he became

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

. At the

2018 Italian general election The 2018 Italian general election was held on 4 March 2018 after the Italian Parliament was Dissolution of parliament in Italy, dissolved by President Sergio Mattarella on 28 December 2017. Voters were electing the 630 members of the Chamber of ...

, Fontana 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 multi-member constituency of Veneto 2. From April to August 2018, he served as one of the vice-presidents of the Chamber. On 1 June 2018, the League and the

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 ...

(M5S) formed a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

led by the independent university professor

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 ...

. The government was sworn in on 5 September 2019. Fontana was appointed Minister of Family and Minister for Disabilities. In August 2018, Fontana called for the repeal of the 1993 Mancino Law, which criminalises hate speech, saying the law was being used by '' globalists'' to promote "anti-Italian racism". In March 2019, he helped organize the anti-gay, anti-feminist, and anti-abortion

World Congress of Families The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international conference that promotes Christian right values internationally. The WCF is the main event of the International Organization for the Family and focuses on issues like opposition to divorce, ...

in Verona, to the point of authorizing the use of the logo of Conte's administrative office in order to promote the event without the prime minister's permission. On 10 July 2019, Fontana was appointed Italy's Minister of European Affairs. In August 2019, the League filed a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the coalition government and the cabinet collapsed.

President of the Chamber of Deputies

After the

2022 Italian general election Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Italy on 25 September 2022. After the fall of the Draghi government, which led to a parliamentary impasse, President of Italy, President Sergio Mattarella dissolved Parliament on 21 July, and ca ...

, which saw a clear victory of the

centre-right coalition The centre-right coalition () is a political alliance of political parties in Italy active under several forms and names since 1994, when Silvio Berlusconi entered politics and formed the party. It has mostly competed with the centre-left c ...

able of winning an

absolute majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...

both in the Chamber and the Senate of the Republic, Fontana was re-elected to the Chamber for the single-member constituency of Verona, gaining 132,554 votes. On 14 October, Fontana was elected

in the fourth round with 222 votes out of 400. In his inauguration speech, Fontana thanked President

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 ...

and

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

for their role in Italy's life and quoted several Catholic personalities, such as Saint

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

and Blessed

Carlo Acutis Carlo Acutis (3 May 1991 – 12 October 2006) was a British-born teenager, primarily of Italian ancestry, known for his devotion to the Eucharist, with him creating a website documenting Eucharistic miracles prior to his death from leukemia at ...

. While meeting the President of

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

Stefančuk, he reiterated that the Russian aggression represents a violations an international laws and that the winning of Ukraine means stability for all European countries.

Political views

Fontana is widely considered an ultraconservative. He calls himself a "

crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

" who fights against

, same-sex civil unions, and stepchild adoption, which he considers as a "weakening of the family". He is also against "pro-LGBT" sexual education, stating that

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

's Russia "is the reference for those who believe in a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

model of society". Fontana was considered an admirer of Putin until the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Before the Russian attack, Fontana declared the foreign policy of Lega as totally in favour of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, including the sanctions on the Russian Federation. He reiterated that his positions are aligned with NATO and the EU, following the latest voting decisions of the Lega - ID group in the European Parliament. On 2 June 2018, the day after becoming minister, he added that "gay families do not exist", labelling them as "filth". He opposes

illegal immigration Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

to Italy, claiming it to be a serious threat that "aims to erase the Italian people along with their communities and traditions", along with " gay marriages and the so-called

gender theory Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

in schools". During his life, Fontana has been in touch with far right football supporters' groups in his hometown Verona. In 2016, he welcomed and greeted Golden Dawn, a Greek neo-Nazi party later judged by the

Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece The Supreme Civil and Criminal Court of Greece (, ''Areios Pagos'', "Areopagus") is the supreme court of Greece for civil and criminal law. In Greece, the decisions of the Supreme Court are final. However, since Greece is a member state of the C ...

as a

criminal organization In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

, and he described its members as "fighters", stating that "their contribution will be decisive". He was a member of the European Parliament when his party entered the European group ENF with

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician of the far-right National Rally, National Rally party (RN). She served as the party's president from 2011 to 2021, and ran for the French presidency in ...

Front National The National Rally (, , RN), known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018 (, , FN), is a French far-right politics, far-right political party, described as right-wing populist and French nationalism, nationalist. It is the single largest Nat ...

. Fontana has been one of the main protagonist of what he defined the "historical alliance" between

and

Works

In 2018, Fontana wrote with

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi Ettore Gotti Tedeschi (born 3 March 1945 in Pontenure) is an Italian economist and banker, and ex-President of the Institute for Works of Religion, also known as the Vatican Bank (from 2009 to 2012). Biography Tedeschi worked as an industrial an ...

the book ''The Empty Cradle of Civilization. At the Origin of the Crisis'', about the risks related to demographic decline in Italy.

Electoral history

References

External links

* (in English) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fontana, Lorenzo 1980 births Living people Italian anti-same-sex-marriage activists Italian traditionalist Catholics Politicians of Veneto Politicians from Verona University of Padua alumni Venetist politicians Italian city councillors Lega Nord MEPs MEPs for Italy 2009–2014 MEPs for Italy 2014–2019 Deputies of Legislature XVIII of Italy Government ministers of Italy Conte I Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XIX of Italy Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy)