Nuccio Cusumano (born Stefano Cusumano; October 16, 1948) is an Italian

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 ...

who was appointed to the

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

(April 26, 2006 – April 28, 2008) on the roster of the

UDEUR The Union of Democrats for Europe (, UDEUR), also known as UDEUR Populars (''Popolari UDEUR''), was a minor centrism, centrist, Christian democracy, Christian-democratic List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. Led by Clement ...

party as one of 30 representatives for the

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

constituency. Born in

Sciacca Sciacca (; ; , , , or ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily, southern Italy. It has views of the Mediterranean Sea. History Thermae was founded in the 5th century BC by the Greeks, as ...

(

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

), he has a law degree and has worked as an entrepreneur and a journalist. In the course of his political career, he has held several government positions, including that of undersecretary of state for the Treasury (then headed by

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (; 9 December 1920 – 16 September 2016) was an Italian politician, statesman and banker who was the President of Italy from 1999 to 2006 and the Prime Minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994. A World War II veteran, C ...

) during the premiership of

Massimo D'Alema Massimo D'Alema (; born 20 April 1949) is an Italian politician and journalist who was the 53rd prime minister of Italy from 1998 to 2000. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2008. D'Alema ...

, between 1998 and 1999. In 1994, as a member of the Italian People's Party (PPI), he helped the then-prime minister,

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

, to survive a

vote 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 ...

. He was one of four PPI senators who, against the instructions of their party, physically left the Senate room, rendering the house without a

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

. In 1999, while a junior treasury minister, he was arrested under allegations of corruption in relation to construction contracts for a hospital in Sicily. In 2007, the court in

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

exonerated him. On 24 January 2008, in the

2008 Italian political crisis On 24 January 2008, the Italian Senate voted down a motion of confidence in Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, causing the collapse of the second Prodi government. Prodi's resignation led the Italian president Giorgio Napolitano to ask the p ...

, Cusumano supported the prime minister,

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

, in a confidence vote, again against the instructions of his party, UDEUR. Another UDEUR senator,

Tommaso Barbato Tommaso is an Italian given name. It has also been used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A * Tommaso Acquaviva d'Aragona (1600–1672), Roman Catholic prelate * Tommaso Aldrovandini (1653–1736), Italian painter of ...

, launched into a vicious verbal attack and had to be restrained from physically attacking Cusumano, who appeared to faint and was carried out of the house. Expelled from UDEUR because of his decision, he joined the Democratic Party. As a candidate in the April 2008 elections, he was not re-elected.

References

External links

Personal page on Italian Senate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusumano, Stefano 1948 births Living people People from Sciacca Presidents of the Province of Agrigento Christian Democracy (Italy) politicians Italian People's Party (1994) politicians Union of Democrats for Europe politicians Democratic Party (Italy) politicians Senators of Legislature XI of Italy Senators of Legislature XII of Italy Deputies of Legislature XIV of Italy Senators of Legislature XV of Italy Italian journalists Italian male journalists