Raffaele Costa (born 8 September 1936) is an

Italian politician The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly, formed by ...

. He was the president of the Province of Cuneo from June 2004 to June 2009. He was previously a member of 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 ...

representing the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party (, PLI) was a liberal political party in Italy. The PLI, which was heir to the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party after World War II, but also a frequent junio ...

and later

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 ...

between 1976 and 2003, and was also a

member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

until June 2004. His son, Enrico Costa, is also a politician and was Italian Minister of Regional Affairs and Autonomies in the

Renzi Cabinet The Renzi government was the 63rd government of the Italian Republic, in office from February 2014 to December 2016. It was led by Matteo Renzi, secretary and leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD). The government was made of members ...

and the

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 ...

Early life and education

Costa was born in

Mondovì Mondovì (; , ) is a town and ''comune'' (township) in Piedmont, northern Italy, about from Turin. The area around it is known as the Monregalese. The town, located on the Monte Regale hill, is divided into several '' rioni'' (ancient quart ...

. He holds a degree in Law and

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 ...

Parliamentary career

He was elected to the

in 1976, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2001.

As Minister

He was Minister without Portfolio for the co-ordination of community political and regional affairs (1992), Minister of Health (1993), Minister of Transport and Minister of the Merchant Marine in the Ciampi government.

As Under-Secretary of State

Costa was parliamentary under-secretary of state in the: *Ministry of Justice *Ministry of Foreign Affairs (8th Legislature) *Ministry of the Interior (Craxi Government) *Ministry of Public Works (9th Legislature)

In the European Parliament

* Member 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 ...

's former ''Committee on the Atmosphere'' * Member of European Parliament's

Committee on Budgetary Control The Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) is a Committees of the European Parliament, committee of the European Parliament. with 30 permanent members. It can be seen as the European Union's internal "political watchdog", seeking to identify undesi ...

* Member of European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety * Member of European Parliament's

Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) is a committee of the European Parliament. Work of the committee The committee is responsible for: * Coordination at Community level of national legislation in the sphere of th ...

Other appointments

* Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Chamber of Deputies * Vice-Chairman of the Agriculture and Forestry Committee of the Chamber of Deputies (1976–1979) * General Secretary of the

(1993–1994) * Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Federalist parliamentary group (1995–1996) * Administrator of

's Office for Citizens' Rights * President of the Province of

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

(2004–2009)

Author

Costa has written four books: *''The Doctor is Outside the Room'' *''My First Republic'' *''Italy, Land of Waste'' *''Italy, Land of Privilege''

Publisher

He founded and published the periodical ''Il Duemila'' in 1971.

External links

*
MEPs European Parliament
1936 births Living people People from Mondovì Italian Liberal Party politicians Forza Italia MEPs MEPs for Italy 1999–2004 Ministers of transport of Italy Ministers of health of Italy {{Italy-MEP-stub