Riccardo Illy (born 24 September 1955) is an Italian businessman and former politician.
Biography
Riccardo Illy was born in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. His paternal grandfather,
Francesco Illy
Francesco Illy ( Hungarian: Illy Ferenc; 7 October 1892 – 1956) was a Hungarian-born accountant, bookkeeper, businessman and philanthropist, best known for founding Illy and inventing various coffee-related machinery. Born in Temesvár, in ...
, was of Hungarian origin. He's
Waldensian.
As a young man Illy worked as a skiing instructor at
Piancavallo and a sailing instructor at
Monfalcone
Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...
. He married
Rossana Bettini, food and wine journalist, at a young age. They have a daughter Daria who is now a Physical Education teacher and personal trainer.
Illy started work in the family's coffee making firm
illy
Illycaffè S.p.A. (branded and stylised as illy) is an Italian coffee company specializing in espresso, headquartered in Trieste. Illy markets its coffee globally in silver and red pressurized, oxygen-free cans; operates a network of cafes on sh ...
caffè in 1977, which was founded by his grandfather in 1933. As the company's Business Director, reorganised its internal business structure as well as the structures of the other firms it controlled. He created a marketing department for the company which, up to then, did not have one. He subsequently served as CEO and is presently the vice president of the company, which has a presence in over 140 countries. Illy is the author of a book entitled ''Dal Caffe all'Espresso'' (''From Coffeebeans to Espresso'') published by Mondadori and translated into English, French and German.
Illy has held positions of Vice President of the Association of Industrialists in
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
and President of the Seminario Permanente Veronelli.
Standing as an independent supported by a coalition which preceded
Ulivo (the Olive Branch Party) and also by a
civic list bearing his name, Illy has been elected twice — in 1993 and again in 1997 — as Mayor of
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
. As First Citizen and a sincere music lover, he has taken up the position of President of Trieste's Theatre Giuseppe Verdi. Until 2002 he was Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Transpadane European Railway Line.
Illy was honoured with the title of Grande Ufficiale (
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...
) by the president of the Italian Republic, and the
Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold title by the president of the Austrian Republic. He was awarded an honoris causa degree in political sciences at the
University of Trieste after his "lectio doctoralis" on the topic of enlargement of Europe to the Eastern Countries.
In 2001, Illy was elected a Member of the Italian Parliament with the mixed group of independent members. He was part of the IX Parliamentary Commission (Transport, Postal Services and Telecommunications) and secretary to the Advisory Parliamentary Commission regarding the bringing into force of the administrative reforms. He has strongly believed in and promoted the referendum not confirming the regional electoral law. When the direct election of the president was obtained, he kept his promise to the citizens of Trieste, and he ran as a candidate for the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea.
Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...
Region supported by the Democratic Coalition Party (Intesa Democratica). He was elected president of theregion in the elections held on 8 and 9 June 2003.
He was unanimously elected president of the
Assembly of European Regions (AER) in December 2004, and his mandate ended in 2008. The AER currently has 250 member regions from 30 European countries.
On 14 April 2008 Illy was defeated in his
re-election bid by candidate
Renzo Tondo, and his term as president ended on 18 April 2008.
Notes
External links
Page at openpolis.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illy, Riccardo
1955 births
Businesspeople in coffee
Businesspeople from Trieste
Living people
Mayors of Trieste
Presidents of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Italian people of Hungarian descent
Italian Waldensians
Illycaffè
Assembly of European Regions