Rita Borsellino (; 2 June 1945 – 15 August 2018) was an Italian Sicilian anti-
Mafia
"Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
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 ...
Borsellino was born in Palermo, Sicily, and worked there as a pharmacist. In July 1992 her brother, Judge
Paolo Borsellino
Paolo Emanuele Borsellino (; 19 January 1940 – 19 July 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of ...
, and the agents of his escort were
killed
Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to:
Types of killing
*-cide, a suffix that refers to types of killing (see List of types of killing), such as:
** Homicide, one human killing another
*** Murder, unlawful killing of another human without ...
by the Mafia in a bomb explosion. She began to organise and participate in events such as public debates, rallies and protests against organised crime. These included events in France and Germany, such as an event in 1994 in Paris with the Argentinian organisation
Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo () is an Argentina, Argentine human rights association formed in response to abuses by the National Reorganization Process, the military dictatorship by Jorge Rafael Videla. Initially the association worked to find ...
.
Political career
In 1994 she was invited to join
Libera
Libera may refer to:
* Libera (mythology), a Roman goddess of fertility
* Libera (choir), a boy vocal group from London
* ''Libera'' (film), a 1993 comedy film
* "Libera" (song), a song by Italian artist Mia Martini
* ''Libera'' (gastropod), a ...
, an Italian NGO working against organised crime. In 1995 she became vice-president of the organisation and in 2005 she was named honorary president. Borsellino was also active in the peace movement, attending international peace conferences in 2000 and 2002.
In 1998 she became president of Associazione Piera Cutino, a non-profit foundation that promotes medical research into
thalassaemia
Thalassemias are a group of inherited blood disorders that manifest as the production of reduced hemoglobin. Symptoms depend on the type of thalassemia and can vary from none to severe, including death. Often there is mild to severe anemia (lo ...
.
2006 regional election
In 2005, some minor parties of The Union, mainly from the radical left wing, endorsed her as their candidate in the
primary election
Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
for the president of the Sicilian region. She was also backed by the
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left (, DS) was a social-democratic political party in Italy. Positioned on the centre-left, the DS, successor of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Italian Communist Party, was formed in 1998 upon the merger ...
, being eventually supported by all the coalition parties, except the Daisy (''Margherita'') who presented another candidate. In the primary election, held on 4 December 2005, she defeated her competitor, and gained the candidacy of The Union for the Sicilian regional election held on 28 May 2006, where she lost to the incumbent governor
Salvatore Cuffaro
Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro (born 21 February 1958) is a former Italian politician and former President of Sicily. He has served an almost 5-year jail sentence for aiding Cosa Nostra.
Borsellino was the first Sicilian woman nominated for the presidency of the Sicilian region, and also attracted the highest ever number of votes for a candidate from The Union.
Later elections
In 2008 she ran for the Italian Senate as an independent with
The Left – The Rainbow
The Left – The Rainbow (, SA), frequently referred as Rainbow Left (), was a left-wing federation of parties in Italy that participated in the 2008 general election.
History
The federation was officially launched on 8–9 December 2007 with t ...
, but was not elected. In 2009 she headed the Sicilian Democratic Party list in the
European elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
, and subsequently became 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 ...
(MEP). During her tenure, Borsellino served on the parliamentary committee on civil justice.
On 4 March 2012 Borsellino ran in a centre-left
open primary
Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...
for the seat of
Mayor of Palermo
The mayor of Palermo is an elected politician who, along with the Palermo's city council, is accountable for the strategic government of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. The current mayor is Roberto Lagalla, who took office on 20 June 2022.
Overview
...
Left Ecology Freedom
Left Ecology Freedom (, SEL) was a democratic socialist political party in Italy whose bulk was formed by former members of the Communist Refoundation Party.
The party's leader was Nichi Vendola, a former President of Apulia. On 17 December 201 ...
, the
Federation of the Left
The Federation of the Left (, FdS) was an electoral alliance of communist political parties in Italy. The coalition was the evolution of the Anticapitalist and Communist List.
History
In the run-up to the 2009 European Parliament election, in ...
,
Federation of the Greens
The Federation of the Greens (, FdV), frequently referred to as Greens (''Verdi''), was a green political party in Italy. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the Federation of Green Lists and the Rainbow Greens.
The FdV was part of the Eur ...
and
Italy of Values
Italy of Values (, IdV) is a populist and anti-corruption political party in Italy. The party was founded in 1998 by former ''Mani pulite'' prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro, who entered politics in 1996 and finally left the party in 2014. IdV has ai ...
. She was defeated in the election by independent candidate
Fabrizio Ferrandelli Fabrizio is an Italian first name, from the Latin word "Faber" meaning "smith" and may refer to:
* Fabrizio Angileri (born 1994), Argentine footballer
* Fabrizio Barbazza (born 1963), Italian Formula One driver
* Fabrizio Barca (born 1954), Italian ...
.
Borsellino continued to serve as an MEP and was on a special parliamentary commission on
organised crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...
,
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
and
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
.
Recognition
In August 2004 Borsellino was awarded the San Lorenzo Prize for her civic contributions. She has received honorary citizenship of
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
,
Offanengo
Offanengo ( Cremasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan and about northwest of Cremona.
Offanengo borders the following municipalities: Casaletto di Sopra, Cr ...
,
Massa Lombarda
Massa Lombarda () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about east of Bologna and about west of Ravenna.
Notable people
* Angiolo Torchi (1856-1915), painter
Twin towns
Massa ...
and
Crevalcore
Crevalcore (Bolognese dialect, Western Bolognese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, near Bologna.
On January 7, 2005 Crevalcore train crash, a train crash in Crevalcore killed 17 people ...
.
Death
Borsellino died at the Civic Hospital in Palermo on 15 August 2018 after a long illness.