Roberto Maroni

Roberto Maroni
Maroni in 2010
President of Lombardy
In office 18 March 2013 – 26 March 2018
Preceded by	Roberto Formigoni
Succeeded by	Attilio Fontana
Federal Secretary of Northern League
In office 1 July 2012 – 15 December 2013
Preceded by	Umberto Bossi
Succeeded by	Matteo Salvini
Minister of the Interior
In office 8 May 2008 – 16 November 2011
Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi
Preceded by	Giuliano Amato
Succeeded by	Anna Maria Cancellieri
In office 10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995
Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi
Preceded by	Nicola Mancino
Succeeded by	Antonio Brancaccio
Minister of Labour
In office 11 June 2001 – 17 May 2006
Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi
Preceded by	Cesare Salvi
Succeeded by	Cesare Damiano
Deputy Prime Minister of Italy
In office 11 May 1994 – 17 January 1995 Serving with Giuseppe Tatarella
Prime Minister	Silvio Berlusconi
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 23 April 1992 – 14 March 2013
Constituency	Lombardy
Personal details
Born	Roberto Ernesto Maroni (1955-03-15)15 March 1955 Varese, Italy
Died	22 November 2022(2022-11-22) (aged 67) Lozza, Italy
Political party	Northern League
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Spouse	Emilia Macchi
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Milan
Profession	Lawyer
Signature

Roberto Ernesto Maroni (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto maˈroːni]; 15 March 1955 – 22 November 2022) was an Italian politician from Varese and a past President of Lombardy. He was the leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padania. From 1992 to 2013 he was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic, always elected in Lombard constituencies. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Italian Republic in the Berlusconi I executive, from 1994 to 1995. He was Interior Minister of the Italian Republic from 1994 to 1995, and from 2008 to 2011. He was Labour Minister of the Italian Republic from 2001 to 2006.

Career

Early political career

In 1979, Maroni received a law degree with a dissertation in Civil Law, from the University of Milan. He became a lawyer after spending two years working as a Legal Affairs Manager for various companies.

Secretary of Varese and Minister of Interior

In 1990, he was elected Province Secretary of the Northern League in Varese. He also became a town councilor in Varese that year. Two years later, he was elected Chairman of the Northern League Parliamentary Group. He also entered the party's Federal Council and campaigned heavily for the Northern League prior to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's first Cabinet.

He also served as Minister of the Interior during the first Berlusconi cabinet, from 1994 to 1995. He also served as Minister of Labour and Welfare from 2001 to May 2006 in Berlusconi's second and third cabinets.

In April 2006, after Berlusconi narrowly lost his re-election bid to Romano Prodi, Maroni alleged problems with the election comparable to those in Florida during the 2000 Presidential election. "The level pegging is very similar to what happened in Florida. With one vote more or one vote less, you lose or you win," he said.

After the 2008 electoral victory of the centre-right coalition in Italy, Maroni assumed the office of Minister of the Interior in the Berlusconi IV Cabinet.

Secretary of Lega Nord and President of Lombardy (2013–2018)

Following the forced retirement of Umberto Bossi due to his alleged involvement in a scandal, Maroni was elected Political Secretary of the Northern League at its Congress in Assago (on 30 June and 1 July 2012). After the election on 24 February 2013, he became the ninth President of Lombardy.

Passion for music

In September 2006, Maroni told Vanity Fair that he downloads music illegally and thinks music should be "free and accessible to all". He added that authors should still be able to stop their work from being widely distributed on the Internet. Maroni said his confession was intended to spark a discussion in Parliament about changing Italy's copyright laws, which are among the strictest in Europe.

Basic income

On 12 May 2015, Maroni announced that his intention to introduce a basic income, as a pilot project, "to ensure all families in the region have enough money to be able to pay for basic necessities". He also said that the plan was to use 220 million euros from the European Social Fund (ESF) for the initiative.

Terrorism

Shortly after the 2016 Normandy church attack, Maroni called on the Pope to "immediately proclaim" Jacques Hamel "St Jacques."

Electoral history

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1992	Chamber of Deputies	Como–Sondrio–Varese		LL	29,618	Y Elected
1994	Chamber of Deputies	Varese		LN	53,640	Y Elected
1996	Chamber of Deputies	Lombardy 1		LN	–	Y Elected
2001	Chamber of Deputies	Varese		LN	45,905	Y Elected
2006	Chamber of Deputies	Lombardy 2		LN	–	Y Elected
2008	Chamber of Deputies	Lombardy 2		LN	–	Y Elected

First-past-the-post elections

1994 general election (C): Varese
Candidate		Coalition	Votes	%
	Roberto Maroni	Pole of Freedoms	53,640	61.4
	Angelo Guerraggio	Alliance of Progressives	16,221	18.5
	Pier Maria Morresi	Pact for Italy	11,507	13.2
	Luigi Federiconi	National Alliance	6,060	6.9
Total			87,428	100.0

2001 general election (C): Varese
Candidate		Coalition	Votes	%
	Roberto Maroni	House of Freedoms	45,905	57.8
	Lorenzo Carabelli	The Olive Tree	28,853	36.3
	Remigio Benelli	Italy of Values	4,721	5.9
Total			79,479	100.0