Romano Prodi listen (help Directory ·), born in Scandiano, Reggio Emilia, August 9, 1939, age 72 years) is the center-left Italian politician. In 1996-1998, he served as Prime Minister of Italy and President of the European Commission in 1999 to 2004. In the April 2006 elections l'Unione, a coalition led by Prodi won by a very small voice over the Casa delle Libertà led by Silvio Berlusconi. Prodi was sued by Berlusconi's victory is not yet willing to admit defeat. However, on 19 April 2006 the highest Italian appeals court declared Prodi as the winner in these elections.

Family

Romano Prodi is the son of the eighth of nine children born to the family of Mario Prodi, an engineer from a prominent family of farmers, and Enrica, a housewife. Prodi is one of seven boys, times and he has two sisters. Most of his brothers became a lecturer (Giovanni Prodi became professor of mathematics, physics professor Vittorio Prodi and also a member of parliament, Paolo Prodi became professor of modern history, Franco Prodi professor of physics, general pathology professor Giorgio Prodi.)
In 1969 he married in Reggio Emilia with Flavia Franzoni, who was then still a student, and later became an economist and lecturer, in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini. They have two children, Giorgio and Antonio. He and his family still lives in Bologna.

Education

After completing his secondary education at the Liceo Ludovico Ariosto in Reggio Emilia, Prodi studied at the Catholic University of Milan, and earned a degree in law with honors in 1961. He submitted a thesis about protectionism in the industrial development of Italy under the guidance of Prof. Siro Lombardini. Prodi later specialized in Milano and Bologna university, and at the London School of Economics under the guidance of Basil Yamey, Professor of Industrial Economics.
Prodi is also a visiting professor at Harvard University and Stanford Research Institute.

Academic career

Academic career began in the economics department and the Faculty of Political Science from the University of Bologna, where he worked as a young professor (1963), associate professor (1966) and finally full professor (1971-1999) for industrial organization and industrial policy.


Political

Service period September 1999 - October 30, 2004
The predecessor Manuel Marin
Substitute José Manuel Durao Barroso
Prodi had been a left-wing Christian Democrats. During the mid-1970s, he began to plunge into the political Italy, and was appointed as Minister of Industry in 1978 in the reign of Giulio Andreotti. He held various positions in various committees during the 1980's and early 1990's. He became chairman of the government-owned holding company that is very powerful, IRI, from 1982 to 1989 and again in 1993 through 1994.
But he was twice subjected to investigation for alleged corruption while he served as chairman of IRI. He is accused of conflict of interest in connection with contracts awarded to its own economic research company, and the second on the sale of government-owned food conglomerate are the losers, SME, to the multinational company Unilever. Prodi himself had been a paid consultant for this company. But he was released fully to both allegations.

In 1995 he became chairman of the coalition of the left Ulivo (Olive Tree), and in 1996 became Prime Minister. His government fell in 1998 when the New Communist Party withdrew his support, and allows the formation of a new government under Massimo D'Alema. This happens only with a difference of one vote in the House of Representatives (which requires support of a majority of both chambers). But his disappointment was not caused by the withdrawal of official support, but on the opposite vote on the matters stated basic to the government and that will lead to the resignation of Saura parliamentary election if the results proved negative (questione in fiducia, in contrast to fiducia delle Camere required by a government on initial appointment and that can be drawn under a special agenda in the procedure that is never used before in the history of parliamentary Italy).
In April 2006, a European Parliament member from Britain to London, Gerard Batten (UKIP), said allegations by a London constituency and former FSB agent, Col.. Alexander Litvinenko, that Prodi had been a "person" KGB in Italy, and demanded the holding of an investigation into the allegations.
From September 1999 to 18 November 2004, Prodi became President of the European Commission.

Prime Minister Election 2006

As the leader of "Union", a coalition of center-left parties, the prime minister Romano Prodi defeated Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing, with a voice less than 1%. In the Lower House Prodi groups acquire 49.8% of the vote, while Berlusconi's 49.7%, while in the Senate he mastered with 158 seats, while Berlusconi's 156 seats. There are a lot of controversy because Prodi declared his victory a few hours before the actual full results were announced.
Berlusconi refused to concede defeat and alleged that the election was marred by a lot of fraud. After several weeks, on May 2, Berlusconi finally resigned and paved the way for Prodi to draw up his cabinet and replace it as the new Prime Minister.

Leading Italian government (2006)

On May 17, 2006, Prodi was sworn in as prime minister and form a new Italian government 61st Italy after World War II. Members of his cabinet, among others, consists of a respected economist in the international world, which is expected to help the Italian of financial turmoil, and two former prime minister Massimo D'Alema, a former communist as foreign minister, and Giuliano Amato, a socialist, as an interior minister who also handle police and intelligence services.