| Honorific-prefix | The Honourable |
|---|---|
| Name | Silvio Berlusconi |
| Office | Prime Minister of Italy |
| President | Giorgio Napolitano |
| Term start | 8 May 2008 |
| Predecessor | Romano Prodi |
| President2 | Carlo Azeglio Ciampi |
| Deputy2 | Giulio TremontiGianfranco FiniMarco Follini |
| Term start2 | 11 June 2001 |
| Term end2 | 17 May 2006 |
| Predecessor2 | Giuliano Amato |
| Successor2 | Romano Prodi |
| President3 | Oscar Luigi Scalfaro |
| Deputy3 | Giuseppe TatarellaRoberto Maroni |
| Term start3 | 10 May 1994 |
| Term end3 | 17 January 1995 |
| Predecessor3 | Carlo Azeglio Ciampi |
| Successor3 | Lamberto Dini |
| Office4 | Minister of Productive ActivitiesActing |
| Predecessor4 | Claudio Scajola |
| Successor4 | Paolo Romani |
| Term start4 | 5 May 2010 |
| Term end4 | 4 October 2010 |
| Office5 | Minister of HealthActing |
| Predecessor5 | Francesco Storace |
| Successor5 | Livia Turco |
| Term start5 | 10 March 2006 |
| Term end5 | 17 May 2006 |
| Office6 | Minister of Economy and FinanceActing |
| Term start6 | 3 July 2004 |
| Term end6 | 16 July 2004 |
| Predecessor6 | Giulio Tremonti |
| Successor6 | Domenico Siniscalco |
| Office7 | Minister of Foreign AffairsActing |
| Term start7 | 6 January 2002 |
| Term end7 | 14 November 2002 |
| Predecessor7 | Renato Ruggiero |
| Successor7 | Franco Frattini |
| Office8 | Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy |
| Constituency8 | XV - Latium I , Rome (1994-1996) |
| Term start8 | 21 April 1994 |
| Birth date | September 29, 1936 |
| Birth place | Milan, Italy |
| Party | The People of Freedom (since 2009) |
| Otherparty | Forza Italia (1994–2008) |
| Spouse | Carla Dall'Oglio (1965–1985)Veronica Lario (1990–2010) |
| Children | MarinaPier SilvioBarbaraEleonoraLuigi |
| Residence | Arcore, Italy |
| Net worth | $9 billion |
| Alma mater | University of Milan |
| Profession | Businessperson |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Signature | Silvio Berlusconi Signature.svg |
Silvio Berlusconi, (; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian politician, the current Prime Minister of Italy, as well as a successful entrepreneur. He is also known under the nickname Il Cavaliere (literally, The Knight), due to the knighthood Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977.
He is the second longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy, a position he has held on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and currently since 2008. Technically, Berlusconi has been sworn in four times because after a cabinet reshuffle, as happened with Berlusconi in 2005, the new ministry is sworn in and subjected to a vote of confidence. He is the leader of the People of Freedom political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 2009. As of November 2009, he is the longest-serving current leader of a G8 country. As of 2010, Forbes magazine has ranked him as the 74th richest man in the world with a net worth of USD 9 billion.
Berlusconi's political rise was rapid and surrounded by controversy. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time and appointed as Prime Minister following the March 1994 snap parliamentary elections, when Forza Italia gained a relative majority a mere three months after having been officially launched. However, his cabinet collapsed after seven months, due to internal disagreements in his coalition. In the April 1996 snap parliamentary elections, Berlusconi ran for Prime Minister again but was defeated by centre-left candidate Romano Prodi. In the May 2001 parliamentary elections, he was again the centre-right candidate for Prime Minister and won against the centre-left candidate Francesco Rutelli. Berlusconi then formed his second and third cabinets, until 2006.
Berlusconi was leader of the centre-right coalition in the April 2006 parliamentary elections, which he lost by a very narrow margin, his opponent again being Romano Prodi. He was re-elected in the parliamentary elections of April 2008 following the collapse, on 24 January 2008, of Romano Prodi's government and sworn in as prime minister on 8 May 2008 (see also 2008 Italian political crisis).
After completing his secondary school education at a Salesian college, he studied law at the Università Statale in Milan, graduating with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising in 1961. Berlusconi was not required to serve the standard one-year stint in the Italian army which was compulsory at the time. During his university studies he was an upright bass player in a group formed with the now Mediaset Chairman and amateur pianist Fedele Confalonieri and occasionally performed as a cruise ship crooner. In later life he wrote AC Milan's anthem with the Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis and Forza Italia's anthem with the opera director Renato Serio. With the Neapolitan singer Mariano Apicella he wrote two Neapolitan song albums: Meglio 'na canzone in 2003 and L'ultimo amore in 2006.
In 1965, he married Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio, and they had two children: Maria Elvira, better known as Marina (born 1966), and Pier Silvio (b. 1969). By 1980, Berlusconi had established a relationship with the actress Veronica Lario (born Miriam Bartolini), with whom he subsequently had three children: Barbara (b. 1984), Eleonora (b. 1986) and Luigi (b. 1988). He was divorced from Dall'Oglio in 1985, and married Lario in 1990. At this time, Berlusconi was a well-known entrepreneur, and his wedding was a notable social event. One of his best men was former Prime Minister and leader of the Italian Socialist Party Bettino Craxi. In May 2009, Lario announced that she was to file for divorce. (right), Prime Minister of Italy in 1984-1987. ]]
Fininvest soon expanded into a country-wide network of local TV stations which had similar programming, forming, in effect, a single national network. This was seen as breaching the Italian public broadcaster RAI's statutory monopoly on creating a national network which was later abolished. In 1980 Berlusconi founded Italy's first private national network, Canale 5, followed shortly thereafter by Italia 1 which was bought from the Rusconi family in 1982, and Rete 4, which was bought from Mondadori in 1984. This was because, on 16 October 1984, judges in Turin, Pescara and Rome, enforcing a law which previously restricted nationwide broadcasting to RAI, had ordered these private networks to cease transmitting.
After some political turmoil in 1985 the decree was approved definitively. But for some years, Berlusconi's three channels remained in a legal limbo, and were not therefore allowed, for instance, to broadcast news and political commentary. They were elevated to the status of full national TV channels in 1990 by the so-called Mammì law.
In 1995, Berlusconi sold a portion of his media holdings, first to the German media group Kirch (now bankrupt) and then by public offer. In 1999 Berlusconi expanded his media interests by forming a partnership with Kirch called the Epsilon MediaGroup.
Berlusconi has also bought a villa in Antigua. A Telegraph newspaper article speculated in November 2010 that he may move there if he is prosecuted for criminal activity.
As he founded his Forza Italia party and entered politics, Berlusconi expressed his support for "freedom, the individual, family, enterprise, Italian tradition, Christian tradition and love for weaker people" and his intention to combat fiscal, judicial and bureaucratic oppression of Italians. The political family of the European People's Party was joined by Forza Italia in 1999 and by the People of Freedom in 2009. Some allies of Berlusconi, especially the Lega Nord, push for controls on immigration. Berlusconi himself has shown some reluctance to pursue such policies as strongly as his allies might like. A number of measures have been taken, with mixed results. The government, after introducing a controversial immigration law (the "Bossi-Fini" law, from the names of the Lega Nord and National Alliance leaders, as first authors of the text) is seeking the cooperation of European and other Mediterranean countries in reducing the large number of immigrants trying to reach Italian coasts on old and overloaded ferries and fishing boats, risking (and, often, losing) their lives.
Berlusconi later (in 1989) sued three journalists for libel for writing articles hinting at his involvement in financial crimes. In court, he declared that he had joined the P2 lodge "only for a very short time before the scandal broke" and "he had not even paid the entry fee". Such statements conflicted with the findings of the parliamentary inquiry commission appointed to investigate the lodge's activity, with material evidence, and even with previous testimony of Berlusconi, all of which not proved that he had actually been a member of P2 since 1978 and had only paid 100,000 Italian liras (exactly 51.65 Euros: change rate was 1,936.27 liras to 1.00 euros) (approximately equivalent to 300 today's Euros) as an entry fee. None member of Massonic Loudge P2 was subjected to trial or sentenced. The majority of Italian people voted him as Prime Minister because they agreed that a group of communist judges tried and are trying to change the popolar vote with never demonstrated charges. Italian people are divided, from the end of WWII nowadays, between main political opinions: not-communists and communists. Berlusconi is the leader of non communist Italians. In 1990 the court of appeal of Venice found Berlusconi guilty of false testimony in front of the Court of Verona, however the court could not pass sentence as the offense had been pardoned by an amnesty passed in 1989.
Some political commentators claim that Berlusconi's electoral programme followed the P2 plan.
On 17 February 2009, Mills was found guilty of accepting a bribe of about 400,000 pounds sterling, allegedly from Silvio Berlusconi, and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison; the appeal ended on 25 February 2010, when the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled that the statute of limitations had expired, and so Mills had committed the crime but was no longer punishable for it.
While investigating these matters, three journalists noted the following facts: Mediobanca's annual report about the 10 biggest Italian companies showed that, in 1992, Berlusconi's media and finance group Fininvest had about 7,140 billion lire of debts, 8,193 billion lire of assets (with 35% of liquidity) and a net worth of 1,053 billion lire. The asset-debt ratio represented a patrimonial situation bordering on bankruptcy.
Berlusconi owns via Mediaset 3 of 7 national TV channels: (Canale 5, Italia 1, and Rete 4). To better understand the controversies over a conflict of interest between Berlusconi's personal business empire and his political office, it is necessary to look at the structure of governmental control over State television. Under the law, the Speakers of the two Houses appoint the RAI president and board of directors. In practice, the decision is a political one, generally resulting in some opposition representatives becoming directors, while top managerial posts go to people sympathetic to the government. It was normal to have two directors and the president belonging to the parliamentary majority, and two directors who are opposition supporters. A parliamentary supervisory commission also exists, whose president is traditionally a member of the opposition. During the tenure of Mr. Baldassarre as RAI president, the two opposition directors and the one closer to the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats left over internal disagreements that mainly regarded censorship issues. RAI continued to be run by a two-man team (mockingly nicknamed by the opposition the Japanese after the Japanese soldiers who kept fighting on in the Pacific Ocean after the end of World War II).
The former Italian center-left coalition of Romano Prodi was often criticised for failing to pass a law to regulate the potential conflict of interest that might arise between media ownership and the holding of political office, despite having governed Italy for an entire legislature from 1996 to 2001. In 2002, Luciano Violante, a prominent member of the Left, said in a speech in Parliament: "Honourable Anedda, I invite you to ask the honourable Berlusconi, because he certainly knows that he received a full guarantee in 1994, when the government changed — that TV stations would not be touched. He knows it and the Honourable Letta knows it."
The authors of the book Inciucio26 cite this sentence as evidence for the idea that the Left made a deal with Berlusconi in 1994, in which a promise was made not to honour a law in the Constitutional Court of Italy that would have required Berlusconi to give up one of his three TV channels in order to uphold pluralism and competition. According to the authors, this would be an explanation of why the Left, despite having won the 1996 elections, didn't pass a law to solve the conflicts of interest between media ownership and politics.
Controversy concerning Berlusconi's 'conflicts of interest' are usually centred around the use of his media and marketing power for political gain. However, there is also controversy regarding his financial gains. When RAI was being run by a two-man team appointed by the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (both in Berlusconi's coalition), the state broadcaster increased its viewers, but lost a significant share of its advertising revenue to the rival Mediaset group, owned and run by the Berlusconi family, which has led to large personal gain.
Berlusconi's governments has passed some laws that have shortened statutory terms for tax fraud. Berlusconi responded to critics by saying that he would not take advantage of these himself, but later did. Romano Prodi, who defeated Berlusconi in 2006, claimed that these were ad personam laws, meant to solve Berlusconi's problems and defend his interests.
For such reasons, Berlusconi and his government have an ongoing quarrel with the Italian judiciary, which reached its peak in 2003 when Berlusconi commented to a foreign journalist that judges are "mentally disturbed" and "anthropologically different from the rest of the human race", remarks that he later claimed he meant to be directed to specific judges only, and of a humorous nature12. More seriously, the Berlusconi administration has long been planning a judiciary reform intended to limit the flexibility currently enjoyed by judges and magistrates in their decision-making, but which, according to its critics, will instead limit the magistrature's independence, by de facto subjecting the judiciary to the executive's control. This reform has met almost unanimous dissent from the Italian judges13, 14 and, after three years of debate and struggle, was passed by the Italian parliament in December 2004, but was immediately vetoed by the Italian President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi 15, who said some of the passed laws were "clearly unconstitutional".
Berlusconi has also been indicted in Spain for charges of tax fraud and violation of anti-trust laws regarding the private television network Telecinco, but his status as a member of the European Parliament allowed him to gain immunity from prosecution until 2005.16 All the accused have been acquitted by the Spanish "Corte de Casacion" in July 2008.
During the night hours between 5 and 6 March 2010, the Berlusconi-led Italian government passed a decree interpreting the electoral law so as to let the PDL candidate run for governor in Lazio after she had failed to properly register for the elections. The Italian Constitution states that electoral procedures can only be changed in Parliament, and must not be changed by governmental decree. Italy's President, whose endorsement of the decree was required by law, said amid much controversy that the measure taken by the government may not violate the Constitution.
In 2004 Dell'Utri, co-founder of Forza Italia, was sentenced to nine years by a Palermo court on charge of "external association to the Mafia", a sentence describing Dell'Utri as a mediator between the economical interests of Berlusconi and members of the criminal organisation. Berlusconi refused to comment on the sentence. In 2010, Palermo's appeals court cut the sentence to seven years but fully confirmed Dell'Utri's role as a link between Berlusconi and the mafia until 1992.
In 1996, a Mafia informer, Salvatore Cancemi, declared that Berlusconi and Dell'Utri were in direct contact with Salvatore Riina, head of the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s and 90s. Cancemi disclosed that Fininvest, through Marcello Dell'Utri and mafioso Vittorio Mangano, had paid Cosa Nostra 200 million lire (between 100 000 and 200 000 of today's euro) annually. The alleged contacts, according to Cancemi, were to lead to legislation favourable to Cosa Nostra, in particular the harsh 41-bis prison regime. The underlying premise was that Cosa Nostra would support Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in return for political favours. After a two-year investigation, magistrates closed the inquiry without charges. They did not find evidence to corroborate Cancemi’s allegations. Similarly, a two-year investigation, also launched on evidence from Cancemi, into Berlusconi’s alleged association with the Mafia was closed in 1996. Dell'Utri was the go-between on a range of legislative efforts to ease pressure on mafiosi in exchange for electoral support, according to Giuffrè. "Dell'Utri was very close to Cosa Nostra and a very good contact point for Berlusconi," he said. Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano told Giuffrè that they "were in good hands" with Dell'Utri, who was a "serious and trustworthy person". Provenzano stated that the Mafia's judicial problems would be resolved within 10 years after 1992, thanks to the undertakings given by Forza Italia. The Graviano brothers allegedly treated directly with Berlusconi through the business-man Gianni Letta, somewhere between September/October 1993. The alleged pact with the Mafia fell apart in 2002. Cosa Nostra had achieved nothing.
Dell'Utri's lawyer, Enrico Trantino, dismissed Giuffrè’s allegations as an "anthology of hearsay". He said Giuffrè had perpetuated the trend that every new turncoat would attack Dell'Utri and the former Christian Democrat prime minister Giulio Andreotti in order to earn money and judicial privileges.
In October 2009, Gaspare Spatuzza, a Mafioso turned pentito in 2008, has confirmed Giuffrè statements. Spatuzza testified that his boss Giuseppe Graviano had told him in 1994 that Berlusconi was bargaining with the Mafia, concerning a political-electoral agreement between Cosa Nostra and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia. Spatuzza said Graviano disclosed the information to him during a conversation in a bar Graviano owned in the upscale Via Veneto district of the Italian capital Rome. Dell'Utri was the intermediary, according to Spatuzza. Dell'Utri has dismissed Spatuzza's allegations as "nonsense". Berlusconi’s lawyer and MP for the PdL, Niccolò Ghedini said that "the statements given by Spatuzza about prime minister Berlusconi are baseless and can be in no way verified."
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In November 2007 Italy’s state-owned energy company Eni signed an agreement with Russian state-owned Gazprom to build the controversial South Stream pipeline.
On December 1, 2010, Wikileaks leaked American state diplomatic cables showing that American officials voiced concerns over Berlusconi's extraordinary closeness to Putin, "including 'lavish gifts,' lucrative energy contracts and a 'shadowy' Russian-speaking Italian go-between". Diplomats consider him "to be the mouthpiece of Putin" in Europe. The Georgian ambassador in Rome has told to the American officials that Georgia believes Putin has promised Berlusconi a percentage of profits from any pipelines developed by Gazprom in coordination with Eni S.p.A..
According to The Economist's findings, Berlusconi, while Prime Minister of Italy, retained effective control of 90% of all national television broadcasting. This figure included stations he owns directly as well as those over which he had indirect control by dint of his position as Prime Minister and his ability to influence the choice of the management bodies of these stations. The Economist has also claimed that the Italian Prime Minister is corrupt and self-serving. A key journalist for The Economist, David Lane, has set out many of these charges in his book Berlusconi's Shadow.
Lane points out that Berlusconi has not defended himself in court against the main charges, but has relied upon political and legal manipulations, most notably by changing the statute of limitation to prevent charges being completed in the first place. In order to publicly prove the truth of the documented accusations contained in their articles, the newspaper has publicly challenged Berlusconi to sue The Economist for libel. Berlusconi did so, losing versus The Economist, and being charged for all the trial costs on 5 September 2008, when the Court in Milan issued a judgment rejecting all Mr Berlusconi's claims and sentenced him to compensate for legal expenses.
Berlusconi's influence over RAI became evident when in Sofia, Bulgaria he expressed his views on journalists Enzo Biagi and Michele Santoro, and comedian Daniele Luttazzi. Berlusconi said that they "use television as a criminal means of communication". They lost their jobs as a result. This statement was called by critics "Editto Bulgaro".
The TV broadcasting of a satirical programmme called RAIot was censored in November 2003 after the comedienne Sabina Guzzanti, made outspoken criticism of the Berlusconi media empire. Mediaset, one of Berlusconi's companies, sued RAI over Guzzanti's program, demanding 20 million euros for "damages"; in November 2003 the show was cancelled by the president of RAI, Lucia Annunziata. The details of the event were made into a Michael Moore-style documentary called Viva Zapatero!, which was produced by Guzzanti.
Mediaset, Berlusconi's television group, has stated that it uses the same criteria as the public (state-owned) television RAI in assigning a proper visibility to all the most important political parties and movements (the so-called 'Par Condicio') - which has been since often disproved. In March 2006, on the television channel Rai Tre, in a television interview with Lucia Annunziata during his talk show, In 1/2 h, he stormed out of the studio because of a disagreement with the host journalist regarding the economic consequences of his government. In November 2007, allegations of news manipulation caused the departure from RAI of Berlusconi's personal assistant.
Enrico Mentana, the news anchor long seen as a guarantor of Canale 5’s independence, walked out in April 2008, saying that he no longer felt “at home in a group that seems like an electoral (campaign) committee”
On 24 June 2009, Silvio Berlusconi during the Confindustria young members congress in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy has invited the advertisers to interrupt or boycott the advertising contracts with the magazines and newspapers published by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, because is fueling the economic crisis speaking more and more about it and accusing also to make a subversive attack against him to replace with an "un-elected".
On 12 October 2009, Silvio Berlusconi during the Confindustria Monza and Brianza members congress, has again invited the industrialists present to a "widespread rebellion" against a "newspaper that hadn't any limits in discrediting the government and the country and indoctrinating foreign newspapers".
In October 2009, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard declared that Berlusconi "is on the verge of being added to our list of Predators of Press Freedom", which would be a first for a European leader. He also added that Italy will probably be ranked last in the European Union in the upcoming edition of the RWB press freedom index.
The former Italian Left coalition under Prodi was often criticised for failing to pass a law to regulate the potential conflict of interest that might arise between media ownership and the holding of political office, despite having governed Italy for an entire legislature from 1996 to 2001. In 2002, Luciano Violante, a prominent member of the Left, said in a speech in Parliament: "Honourable Anedda, I invite you to ask the honourable Berlusconi, because he certainly knows that he received a full guarantee in 1994, when the government changed — that TV stations would not be touched. He knows it and the Honourable Letta knows it." This declaration caused an uproar, not only in the Arab and Muslim world, but also all around Europe, including Italy. Subsequently Berlusconi told the press: "We are aware of the crucial role of moderate Arab countries... I am sorry that words that have been misunderstood have offended the sensitivity of my Arab and Muslim friends."
In the following days Silvio Berlusconi gave explanations about the incident to press and television, swearing that he knew the girl only through her father and that he never met her alone without her parents. However, on 14 May, newspaper la Repubblica published an article showing the many inconsistencies and contradictions arisen so far and formally asking Berlusconi to answer ten questions in order to clarify the situation.
Ten days later, Letizia's ex-boyfriend Luigi Flaminio claimed that Berlusconi contacted the girl personally in October 2008, impressed by her "purity" and "angelic face" after seeing pictures of her in a photobook, brought to him by the journalist Emilio Fede (director of TG4). Flaminio also mentioned that she spent a week without her parents at Berlusconi's Sardinian villa around New Year's Eve 2009, a fact confirmed later by her mother. Photographs of the event taken by a paparazzo were confiscated by the Prosecutor's Office of Rome for violation of privacy but a selection of those photos was published in El País on 4 June.
On 28 May 2009, Silvio Berlusconi said that he never had "spicy" relations with Noemi Letizia, swearing also on his children's heads. He said also if had any such thing like this occurred, he would have resigned immediately.
On 17 June 2009, Patrizia D'Addario, a 42-year old escort and retired actress from Bari, Italy, claimed that she had been recruited twice (by a common friend, who paid her 2000 Euros) in order to spend the evening, and once also the night with Berlusconi. Magistrates in Bari are investigating this case, since the common friend could be prosecuted for favouring prostitution.
Silvio Berlusconi denied any knowledge of D'Addario being a paid escort: "I have never paid a woman - he declared - I have never understood what satisfaction there is if the pleasure of conquest is absent". He also accused an unspecified person of manoeuvring and paying D'Addario (accusations which she vehemently denied).
Other young women have also described to the press the parties held in Berlusconi's Rome residence (Palazzo Grazioli): while photos and transcripts of audio cassettes circulated widely in the press: these descriptions have raised, in particular, concerns about the lack of security measures and the uncontrolled access to the PM's residence.
On 26 June 2009, the "10 questions" to Berlusconi were reformulated by la Repubblica newspaper, and then frequently republished on it. No answers were given, until 28 August 2009, when Berlusconi sued Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, the owner company of the newspaper, and defined these ten questions as "defamatory" and "rhetorical".
Berlusconi's lifestyle has raised eyebrows in Catholic circles, with vigorous criticism being expressed in particular by the newspaper Avvenire, owned by the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana (Conference of Italian Bishops). This was followed by the publication in the newspaper il Giornale (owned by the Berlusconi family) of details with regard to legal proceedings against the editor of Avvenire, Dino Boffo, which seemed to imply him for harassments case against the wife of his ex-partner. Dino Boffo has always declared the details of proceeding as false, although hasn't denied the fact.
After a period of tense exchanges and polemics, on 3 September 2009, Boffo resigned from his editorial position and the assistant editor Marco Tarquinio became editor ad interim.
On 22 September 2009, Silvio Berlusconi after a press conference declared that he has asked his ministers not to respond anymore to questions regarding "gossip". He has stated also that the Italian press should talk only about the "successes" of Italian Government in internal and foreign policies, adding also that the press now will be able only to ask questions such as "how many apartments will be given in L'Aquila", i.e. on his administration and not on gossip.
During a contested episode of AnnoZero on 1 October 2009, the journalist and presenter Michele Santoro has interviewed Patrizia D'Addario. She has stated she was contacted by Giampaolo Tarantini - a businessman from Bari - who already knew her and requested her presence to Palazzo Grazioli with "the President". D'Addario also stated that Berlusconi knows that she was a paid escort.
In November 2010, teenage Moroccan belly dancer Karima El Mahroug (better known with the nickname of Ruby Rubacuori) claimed to have been given $10,000 by Berlusconi at parties at his private villas. The girl told prosecutors in Milan that these events were like orgies where Berlusconi and 20 young women performed an African-style ritual known as the "bunga bunga" in the nude.
It was also found out that, on 27 May 2010, El Mahroug had been arrested for theft by the Milan police but (being still a minor) she was directed to a shelter for juvenile offenders. However, following two telephone calls by Berlusconi to the police authorities (in which, in particular, he falsely indicated that El Mahroug was a close relative of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, the young woman was released and entrusted to the care of PDL regional counselor (and Berlusconi's personal dental hygienist) Nicole Minetti.
Berlusconi has also come under fire for reportedly spending 1.8 million in state funds to further the career of a largely unknown Bulgarian actress, Michelle Bonev. The fact that this coincided with severe cuts being made to the country's arts budget provoked a strong reaction from the public.
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In February 2002, at a European Union summit of foreign ministers, Berlusconi, who was present since the replacement of his previous foreign minister, Renato Ruggiero, had not yet been appointed, made a vulgar gesture (the "corna") behind the head of the Spanish foreign minister, Josep Piqué, intimating he was a cuckold during an official photo shoot. This is a common joke among Italian children, but many felt it was utterly out of place in an international meeting. He later explained that he "was just kidding", and was trying to create a relaxed atmosphere, that this sort of meeting was meant to "create friendship, cordiality, fondness and kind relationships" between the participants, and that he wanted to amuse a small group of Boy Scout bystanders.
On 2 July 2003, one day after taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, he was heavily criticised by the German SPD Member of the European Parliament Martin Schulz because of his domestic policy and his alleged links to the Mafia. Berlusconi responded: "Mr Schulz, I know a movie producer in Italy who is making a movie about Nazi concentration camps. I will recommend you for the role of a Kapo. You are perfect for the part!". Responding to the shoutings that then came from the Socialist backbenchers, Berlusconi insisted that he was only joking, but soon after accused Martin Schulz and others leftish MEPs to be "bad-willing tourists of democracy". His comparisons with the Nazis caused a brief cooling of Italy's relationship with Germany.
In 2003, during an interview with Nicholas Farrell and Boris Johnson, then editor of The Spectator magazine, Berlusconi claimed that Mussolini "had been a benign dictator who did not murder opponents but sent them 'on holiday'".
In mid-May 2005, while opening the European Food Safety Authority in Parma (preferred over a Finnish location, after Berlusconi made an assertion of Finns "not knowing what prosciutto is", Berlusconi claimed that he had to "dust off my playboy skills" with the Finnish president, Tarja Halonen, to convince her to locate the EFSA in Parma. This caused criticism from both Italy and Finland, with the Italian ambassador in Finland being summoned by the Finnish foreign minister. A minister of his cabinet later 'explained' the comment by saying that "anyone who had seen a picture of Halonen must have been aware that he had been joking". Before that, speaking to a group of Wall Street traders, he listed a series of reasons to invest in Italy. The first of them was that "we have the most beautiful secretaries in the world". This resulted in uproar in Italy, where, for a day, female Members of Parliament took part in a cross-party protest. Over the prosciutto comment, the Finnish pizza chain Kotipizza later came back with a new variety of pizza called Pizza Berlusconi, using smoked reindeer as the topping. The pizza won first prize in America's Plate International pizza contest in March 2008.
In March 2006, Berlusconi defended accusations he made that the "Communists used to eat children", by responding with claims that "... read the Black Book of Communism and you will discover that in the communist China of Mao, they did not eat children, but had them boiled to fertilise the fields". He later admitted, "It was questionable irony ... because this joke is questionable. But I did not know how to restrain myself." His political opponent Romano Prodi told the press, "The damage caused to Italy by an insult to 1.3 billion people is by all means a considerable one", and that Berlusconi's comments were "unthinkable". Berlusconi replied by gifting 1000 copies of the Black Book of Communism during one of his election rallies.
On 4 April 2006, less than a week before the upcoming political elections in Italy, during a speech given at the National Chamber for Trade, Berlusconi stated that he holds "too high esteem of the Italians' intelligence to think that there are so many coglioni (literally "testicles", a vulgar term whose closest semantic equivalent in English is "assholes", often used against morons or people otherwise considered stupid) around voting against their interest". He later apologised for the "rude but effective language".
At an awards dinner in January 2007, Berlusconi was quoted as saying, "If I wasn't already married, I would marry you right away," and "With you, I'd go anywhere" to Mara Carfagna, a representative of Forza Italia and former showgirl. These flirtatious comments prompted his wife Veronica to demand an apology in a front-page letter to the Italian newspaper la Repubblica, one of Berlusconi's rival publications. In a statement released through his political party, he begged for forgiveness and stated that he would "always protect [Veronica's] dignity." Mara Carfagna is now serving under him as minister for Equal Opportunities.
In the run-up to the 2008 Italian general election, Berlusconi claimed that right-wing female politicians were better looking than their left-wing counterparts. His remarks provoked an angry reaction from Italian centre-left parties, which accused him of being sexist. Berlusconi was quoted as saying that when he looked round Parliament, he found that female politicians from the right were "more beautiful" and that "The left has no taste, even when it comes to women".
During a televised encounter with voters on 10 April 2008 a young woman asked Silvio Berlusconi what the younger generation should do about the lack of secure jobs. He promptly suggested that she try to marry "the son of Berlusconi... with a smile like yours, you could try."
Since the 2008 general election, Berlusconi has already begun to court controversy at European level. He has publicly criticised the current composition of the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government as being too 'pink' by virtue of the fact that it has (once the President of the Council, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is counted) an equal number of men and women. He also stated that he doubted that such a composition would be possible in Italy given the "prevalence of men" in Italian politics.
At a joint press-conference at Villa La Certosa (17 April 2008) in Sardinia with the Russian president Vladimir Putin, a Russian journalist from Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, Natalia Melikova, put a question to Putin, asking him if he intended divorcing his wife and marrying Alina Kabayeva, an Olympic gold medalist and an MP in Russia. When his guest showed annoyance, Berlusconi intervened with a gesture toward the journalist that imitated a gunman shooting. The journalist was reportedly reduced to tears. Putin denied rumours that he was to marry Kabaeva. A spokesman for Berlusconi tried to play down the shooting gesture. He said: "It was just a gesture, a playful gesture, in fact it was appreciated given the technical time needed for a long and tedious Russian translation." Afterwards, Melikova said: "I saw Berlusconi's gesture and I know he has a reputation as being a joker. I hope there are no consequences."
Berlusconi and George W. Bush are known to be intimate friends and spend time together on Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch. He declared that he and Bush would "remain friends forever", nostalgic at the end of Bush's term as a president. On an official dinner in the White House on October 2008, Berlusconi, tripping over a microphone cable, crumbled the podium, too excited about greeting Bush and embracing him. Then Berlusconi commented: "did you see what a huge love can do?"
On 6 November 2008, two days after Barack Obama was elected the first African-American US President, Berlusconi "complimented" Obama on his "suntan": }} On 26 March 2009 he added: }} Subsequently at a tent camp on the outskirts of L'Aquila housing some of the more than 30,000 people who lost their homes during the 2009 earthquake he said to an African priest: Berlusconi then grabbed the priest and told him: }}
On 18 November 2008, Berlusconi played "hide-and-seek" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was set to receive Merkel but opted to hide behind a column while Merkel and her entourage walked by. According to reporters present, Berlusconi called out "coo coo", prompting Mrs Merkel to turn around, saying "Oh, Silvio".
On 24 January 2009 Berlusconi announced his aim to enhance the numbers of military patrolling the Italian cities from 3000 to 30000 in order to crack down on what he called an "evil army" of criminals. Responding to a female journalist who asked him if this tenfold increase in patrolling soldiers would be enough to secure Italian women from being raped, he said: Opposition leaders called the remarks insensitive and in bad taste. Berlusconi retorted that he had merely wanted to compliment Italian women. Other critics accused him of creating a "police state".
On 3 April 2009, Berlusconi appeared to have annoyed Queen Elizabeth II at a photo session during the G20 summit. During the photo session, Berlusconi shouted "Mr Obama, Mr. Obama", prompting her to turn around and chastise Berlusconi, “What is it? Why does he have to shout?”. The following day, at the NATO meeting in Kehl, Berlusconi was seen talking on his mobile phone, while the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other NATO leaders waited for him for a photo on a Rhine bridge. (Afterwards, Berlusconi claimed he was talking to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about accepting the Secretary Generalship of Anders Fogh Rasmussen). Responding to the Italian media's reaction to these incidents, he said he was considering "hard measures" against reporters, and referred to some of their claims as "slander".
Two days after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, devastating the capital city of the Abruzzo region and causing more than 290 deaths, Berlusconi said to n-tv that the people left homeless by the earthquake should view their experience as a camping weekend. In that occasion he asked woman councillor Lia Beltrami, "Can I fondle you?" on a tour of an earthquake site.
On May 2009 Berlusconi said to a reporter while he was on a live television in Rome that when he was in Finland he had to travel three hours to see a two hundred year old church in the countryside. In his opinion that wooden church would have been destroyed if it was in Italy. Mr Berlusconi had made a non-official visit to Finland in 1999 and had never seen any Finnish church. He had just been visiting Iceland.
In October 2010, Berlusconi was chastised by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano after he was filmed telling "offensive and deplorable jokes", one of the gravest curses in the Italian language. It was also revealed he had made another anti-Semitic joke a few days previously. Mr. Berlusconi responded to the allegations by saying the jokes were "neither an offence nor a sin, but merely a laugh".
On 1 November 2010, after he was yet another time alleged to be involved in juvenile prostitution. He declared to the 'Fiera di Milano' audience: "Don't read newspapers any more because they deceive you. [...] I am a man who works hard all day long and if sometimes I use to look at some well-looking girl, it's better to be fond of pretty girls than to be gay". The remarks were immediately condemned by Arcigay, Italy's main gay rights organization, on behalf of both women and gay people; speaking on behalf of the organization, its president Paolo Patanè said that it was "unacceptable for a head of government to foster a chauvinistic and vulgar attitude" with such a statement, and requested that Berlusconi apologize. Politicians including Nichi Vendola, Antonio Di Pietro, and Franco Grillini released similar statements, with the latter commenting that it was "better to be gay than to be a sex-addicted schemer like Berlusconi." Flavia Madaschi, president of Agedo, the Italian equivalent of PFLAG, also commented that it was "better to be gay than Berlusconi." Activists staged an anti-homophobia protest outside Palazzo Chigi.
In the night of 15–16 December a 26-year old man was stopped by police and Berlusconi's bodyguards while trying to gain access to Berlusconi's hospital room. A search revealed that he carried no weapons, although three hockey sticks and two knives were later found in his car. The suspect was known to have a history of mental illness and mandatory treatment in mental institutions.
Berlusconi was discharged from the hospital on 17 December 2009.
Category:1936 births Category:20th-century Roman Catholics Category:21st-century Roman Catholics Category:A.C. Milan Category:Current national leaders Category:Italian anti-communists Category:Italian billionaires Category:Italian businesspeople Category:Italian football chairmen and investors Category:Italian mass media owners Category:Italian publishers (people) Category:Italian Roman Catholics Category:Living people Category:The People of Freedom politicians Category:Forza Italia politicians Category:Members of Propaganda Due Category:Members of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Category:Newspaper publishers (people) Category:People from Milan Category:Prime Ministers of Italy Category:Recipients of the Star of Romania Order Category:Recipients of the Order of the Three Stars, 2nd Class
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| Name | Viviane Reding |
|---|---|
| Office | European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship |
| President | José Manuel Barroso |
| Term start | 9 February 2010 |
| Predecessor | Jacques Barrot (Justice, Freedom and Security) |
| Office2 | European Commissioner for Information Society and Media |
| President2 | José Manuel Barroso |
| Term start2 | 22 November 2004 |
| Term end2 | 9 February 2010 |
| Predecessor2 | Ján FigeľOlli Rehn (Enterprise and Information Society) |
| Successor2 | Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda) |
| Office3 | European Commissioner for Education and Culture |
| President3 | Romano Prodi |
| Alongside3 | Dalia Grybauskaitė |
| Term start3 | 13 September 1999 |
| Term end3 | 21 November 2004 |
| Predecessor3 | Marcelino Oreja (Culture) |
| Successor3 | Ján Figeľ (Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism) |
| Birth date | |
| Birth place | Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg |
| Party | Christian Social People's Party |
| Profession | Journalist |
| Alma mater | University of Paris |
She is married and has three children.
She then became leader of Luxembourg’s EPP delegation in the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999 and she was a Member of the group's office.
Within the European Parliament, she has held positions as President of the Petitions Committee for about 3 years, and Vice-President of the Social Committee and the Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs Committee for about 2 years each.
From 1981 to 1999, she was Communal conciliator of the city of Esch, in which she was President of the Cultural Affairs Committee from 1992 to 1999.
From 1988 to 1993, she was national president of the Christian-Social Women and from 1995 to 1999 Vice-president of the Christian Social People's Party.
From 1999 to 2004, she was appointed Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth, Media and Sport and in 2004 her responsibility changed to Information Society and Media. She is currently looking into the regulation on prices of roaming within the EU.
She has earned the following prizes and distinctions:
On 7 April 2006 the Commission launched the new ".eu" TLD for websites for EU companies and citizens wishing to have a non-national European internet address. This has proved popular with 2.5 million being registered by April 2007. It is now the seventh most popular TLD worldwide, and third in Europe (after .de and .uk).
Reding has also proposed that major European telecom companies be forced to separate their network and service operations to promote competition in the market. The companies, including France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, would still own their networks but the separate management structure would be obliged to treat other operators on an equal basis in offering access to the network. This is opposed to separate ideas to force a full break up of such companies.
In 2008, the EU Parliament voted to pass the "Telecoms Package" which would render the entire markets of the region into one market, making it easier to sell internet and phone services in EU, with the goal of making the telecom prices cheaper for customers in EU. Among the many amendments to the proposal, amendment 138 was voted in favor of with 574 votes for, and 73 against. This particular amendment would require any termination of internet subscription to be heard in front of a judge. Viviane Reding said afterward that she hoped she could force the removal of the amendment, thus to some observers overruling the democratic process of the 647 cast votes.
On 7 July 2010, Reding had an official meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, in order to launch joint talks on the EU's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. On that very occasion, she was assaulted by a man with mental health problems in front of the Palace of Europe.
The French government's claim that it was expulsing people on legal rather than ethnic grounds was later claimed to be "openly contradicted by an administrative circular issued by the same government" mentioning the illegal Romani camps specifically ("en priorité ceux des Roms"). This mention could be explained by the fact that Roma account for the overwhelming majority of foreign migrants setting up camps in France, and that "most Roma from the two countries [Bulgaria and Romania] are thought to be in France illegally". French President Nicolas Sarkozy stated that his government had been unaware of the directive in question and argued that it had been canceled as soon as the government became aware of it through press reports. He stated that France continues to welcome refugees and that "we refuse the creation of slums... that are unworthy of the values of the French Republic or of European ideals." President Sarkozy also stated that 80% of the camps removed during August 2010 were of French "gens du voyage", i.e. most of the campers thus removed where not foreign citizens or Roma; and that all removals were done based on judicial decisions, i.e. they were not unilateral police operations as would be based on a circular directive. At least one of those expulsed, testifying from Pierrelaye in France where she had returned, disagreed.
The French government responded by saying Reding had made an "unseemly blunder" and defended France as "the mother of human rights." President Sarkozy denounced Mrs. Reding's comments as "scandalous" and stated that "if Luxembourg wants to take in Roma, that is no problem" as far as France is concerned. Luxembourg Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn, considered this statement to be "malevolent" President Sarkozy also stated that Mrs Reding had been silent during larger-scale expulsions by other countries in earlier years, including by Italy specifically of its Roma during 2009, and when police rejected Romani travelers trying to enter Luxembourg. French Immigration Minister Eric Besson said that in her statement Reding "intentionally skids, if I may say, that is she uses an expression aimed to shock, that contains an anachronic fallacy, and that creates a false amalgam".
Following her initial statement, Mrs Reding announced her intention to sue France at the European Court of Justice within two weeks. She subsequently privately recanted the historical comparison in her initial statement. Her office apologized for the analogy. Her office also subsequently declined to follow up on the earlier threat to sue France at the European Court of Justice, or to take other legal action on the Roma matter against France.
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Category:1951 births Category:Christian Social People's Party politicians Category:Councillors in Esch-sur-Alzette Category:d'Wort people Category:European Commissioners Category:Living people Category:Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies members Category:Luxembourgian European Commissioners Category:Luxembourgian journalists Category:Luxembourgian women in politics Category:Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg from Centre Category:People from Esch-sur-Alzette Category:University of Paris alumni Category:Christian Social People's Party MEPs Category:Female Members of the European Parliament Category:MEPs for Luxembourg 1989–1994 Category:MEPs for Luxembourg 1994–1999
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| Name | Simona Ventura |
|---|---|
| Caption | Ventura at the premiere of |
| Birth date | April 01, 1965 |
| Birth place | Bentivoglio |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation | television presenter |
Simona Ventura (born on 1 April 1965 in Bentivoglio) is an Italian television presenter.
At RAI, Ventura has appeared with Pippo Baudo on the Sunday afternoon programme "Domenica In" (1991) and then, in 1992, the sport programme "Domenica Sportiva". She also been on "Pavarotti International".
In 1996 Simona hosted the newcomers' section of Sanremo Music Festival for RAI.
In 2005 and 2006 she presented Music farm, a show similar to the Hit Me, Baby, One More Time format, on Rai Due.
She also had the Prime Time Access Rule on Rai Uno with "Le Tre Scimmiette" and in 2007 appeared in prime time with "Colpo di Genio".
She is still hosting "Quelli che il calcio."
Simona was a judge in two first series of Italian X-Factor.
She acted in the film Fratelli Coltelli in 1997
In 2008 Simona starred in "La fidanzata di papà" with Massimo Boldi and Elisabetta Canalis.
In 2009 Simona attended the Cannes Film Festival in May.In 2010 she has a cameo in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere.
Programs with the largest audience
Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:People from the Province of Bologna Category:Italian television presenters Category:Italian television personalities Category:The X Factor judges
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| Name | Nigel Farage |
|---|---|
| Honorific-suffix | MEP |
| Office | Leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party |
| Term start | 5 November 2010 |
| Predecessor | Jeffrey Titford |
| Term start1 | 27 September 2006 |
| Term end1 | 27 November 2009 |
| Predecessor1 | Roger Knapman |
| Successor1 | The Lord Pearson of Rannoch |
| Constituency mp2 | the South East |
| Parliament2 | European |
| Term start2 | 15 July 1999 |
| Birth date | April 03, 1964 |
| Birth place | Kent, England, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Party | UK Independence Party |
| Spouse | Kirsten MehrGráinne Hayes (div.) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Dulwich College |
Farage was a founding member of the UKIP, having left the Conservative Party in 1992 after they signed the Maastricht Treaty. Having unsuccessfully campaigned in European and Westminster parliamentary elections for UKIP since 1994, he was elected as the MEP for South East England in the 1999 European Parliament Election and was re-elected in 2004 and 2009.
In September 2006, Farage became the UKIP Leader and led the party through the 2009 European Parliament Election in which it received the second highest share of the popular vote, defeating Labour and the Liberal Democrats with over two million votes. However he stepped down in November 2009 to concentrate on contesting the Speaker John Bercow's seat of Buckingham in the 2010 general election.
At the 2010 General Election, Farage failed to unseat John Bercow and only received the third highest share of the vote in the constituency. Shortly after the polls opened on 6 May 2010, Nigel Farage was injured in a plane crash in Northamptonshire. The two-seated PZL-104 Wilga 35A had been towing a pro-UKIP banner when it flipped over and crashed shortly after takeoff. Both Farage and the pilot were hospitalised with non life threatening injuries.
In November 2010, Farage successfully stood in the 2010 UKIP leadership contest, following the resignation of its leader, Malcolm Pearson. Farage was also ranked 41st (out of 100) in The Daily Telegraph's Top 100 most influential right-wingers poll in October 2009, citing his media savvy and his success with UKIP in the European Elections. Farage was ranked 58th in the 2010 list compiled by Iain Dale and Brian Brivati for the Daily Telegraph.
He was elected to the European Parliament in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009. Farage is currently leader of the thirteen-member UKIP contingent in the European Parliament, and co-leader of the multinational eurosceptic group, Europe of Freedom and Democracy.
At his maiden speech to the UKIP conference on 8 October 2006, he told delegates that the party was "at the centre-ground of British public opinion" and the "real voice of opposition". Farage said: "We've got three social democratic parties in Britain — Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative are virtually indistinguishable from each other on nearly all the main issues" and "you can't put a cigarette paper between them and that is why there are nine million people who don't vote now in general elections that did back in 1992."
At 10pm on 19 October 2006, Farage took part in a three-hour live interview and phone-in with James Whale on national radio station talkSPORT. Four days later, Whale announced on his show his intention to stand as UKIP's candidate in the 2008 London Mayoral Election. Farage said that Whale "not only has guts, but an understanding of what real people think". However Whale later decided not to stand and UKIP was represented by Gerard Batten. He stood again for UKIP leadership in 2010 after his successor Lord Pearson stood down.
When he contested the Bromley & Chislehurst constituency in a May 2006 by-election, organised after the sitting MP representing it, eurosceptic Conservative Eric Forth, died, Farage came third, winning 8% of the vote, beating the Labour Party candidate. This was the second-best by-election result recorded by UKIP out of 25 results, and the first time since the Liverpool Walton by-election in 1991 that a party in government had been pushed into fourth place in a parliamentary by-election on mainland Britain.
He stood against Buckingham MP John Bercow, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Commons, despite a convention that the speaker, as a political neutral, is not normally challenged in their bid for re-election by any of the major parties.
On 6 May, on the morning the polls opened in the election, just before eight o'clock Farage was involved in a light plane crash, suffering injuries described as non-life threatening. A spokesperson told the BBC that "it was unlikely Mr Farage would be discharged from hospital today [6 May] Although his injuries were originally described as minor, his sternum and ribs were broken, and his lung punctured. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said that the plane was towing a banner, which caught in the tail plane forcing the nose down. On 1 December 2010, the pilot of the aircraft involved in the accident was charged with threatening to kill Farage. He was also charged with threatening to kill an AAIB official involved in the investigation into the accident.
Farage came third with 8,401 votes. Bercow was re-elected, and an independent who campaigned with "Flipper the Dolphin" (a reference to MPs flipping second homes) came second.
The former Europe Minister, Denis MacShane, said that this showed that Farage was "happy to line his pockets with gold". Farage called this a "misrepresentation", pointing out that the money had been used to promote UKIP's message, not salary, but he welcomed the focus on the issue of MEP expenses, claiming that "[o]ver a five year term each and every one of Britain's 78 MEPs gets about £1 million. It is used to employ administrative staff, run their offices and to travel back and forth between their home, Brussels and Strasbourg." He also pointed out the money spent on the YES campaign in Ireland by the European Commission was "something around 440 million", making the NO campaign's figure insignificant in comparison.
Farage persuaded around 75 MEPs from across the political divide to back a motion of no confidence in Barroso, which would be sufficient to compel Barroso to appear before the European Parliament to be questioned on the issue. The motion was successfully tabled on 12 May 2005, and Barroso appeared before Parliament at a debate on 26 May 2005. The motion was heavily defeated. A Conservative MEP, Roger Helmer, was expelled from his group, the European People's Party - European Democrats (EPP-ED) in the middle of the debate by that group's leader Hans-Gert Poettering as a result of his support for Farage's motion.
Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:United Kingdom Independence Party politicians Category:Members of the European Parliament for English constituencies Category:Critics of the European Union Category:Anti-globalist activists Category:People from Farnborough, London Category:Old Alleynians Category:Leaders of the United Kingdom Independence Party Category:British libertarians Category:UK Independence Party MEPs Category:MEPs for the United Kingdom 1999–2004 Category:MEPs for the United Kingdom 2004–2009 Category:MEPs for the United Kingdom 2009–2014
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| Name | Backstreet Boys |
|---|---|
| Img capt | Backstreet Boys |
| Background | group_or_band |
| Origin | Orlando, Florida, United States |
| Genre | Pop, pop rock, R&B;, teen pop, adult contemporary but the remaining members did not rule out a possible return of the singer. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys (1996). In the following year, they released their second international album, Backstreet's Back (1997) and their debut album in the United States which continued the group's success worldwide. They rose to superstardom with their album Millennium (1999) and its follow-up album, Black & Blue (2000). After a three-year hiatus, the band regrouped and have since released three albums: Never Gone (2005), Unbreakable (2007) and This Is Us (2009). |
| Name | Boys, Backstreet |
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| Name | Angela Dorothea Merkel |
|---|---|
| Office | Chancellor of Germany |
| President | Horst Köhler (2005-2010)Christian Wulff (2010-present) |
| Deputy | Franz Müntefering (2005-2007)Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2007-2009)Guido Westerwelle (2009-present) |
| Term start | 22 November 2005 |
| Predecessor | Gerhard Schröder |
| Office2 | Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety |
| Chancellor2 | Helmut Kohl |
| Term start2 | 17 November 1994 |
| Term end2 | 26 October 1998 |
| Predecessor2 | Klaus Töpfer |
| Successor2 | Jürgen Trittin |
| Office3 | Minister for Women and Youth |
| Chancellor3 | Helmut Kohl |
| Term start3 | 18 January 1991 |
| Term end3 | 17 November 1994 |
| Predecessor3 | Ursula Lehr |
| Successor3 | Claudia Nolte |
| Office4 | Member of the Bundestag |
| Term start4 | 2 December 1990 |
| Constituency4 | Stralsund – Nordvorpommern – Rügen |
| Birth name | Angela Dorothea Kasner |
| Birth date | July 17, 1954 |
| Birth place | Hamburg, West Germany |
| Party | Christian Democratic Union (1990–present) |
| Otherparty | Democratic Awakening (1989–1990) |
| Spouse | Ulrich Merkel (1977–1982)Joachim Sauer (1998–present) |
| Alma mater | University of Leipzig |
| Profession | Physical chemist |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
| Signature | Angela Merkel Signature.svg |
From 2005 to 2009 she led a grand coalition with the Christian Social Union (CSU), its Bavarian sister party, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), formed after the 2005 federal election on 22 November 2005. In the elections of 27 September 2009, her party, the CDU, obtained the largest share of the votes, and formed a coalition government with the CSU and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). Her government was sworn in on 28 October 2009.
In 2007, Merkel was also President of the European Council and chaired the G8. She played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. In domestic policy, health care reform and problems concerning future energy development have thus far been major issues of her tenure.
Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany. In 2007 she became the second woman to chair the G8, after Margaret Thatcher.
Merkel's father studied theology in Heidelberg and, afterwards, in Hamburg. In 1954 her father received a pastorate at the church in Quitzow (near Perleberg in Brandenburg) which then was in Communist East Germany, and the family moved to Templin. Thus Merkel grew up in the countryside 80 km (50 miles) north of Berlin. Gerd Langguth, a former senior member of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, states in his book that the family's ability to travel freely from East to West Germany during the following years, as well as their possession of two automobiles, leads to the conclusion that Merkel's father had a "sympathetic" relationship with the communist regime, since such freedom and perquisites for a Christian pastor and his family would have been otherwise impossible in East Germany.
Like most pupils, Merkel was a member of the official, Socialist-led youth movement Free German Youth (FDJ). However, she did not take part in the secular coming of age ceremony Jugendweihe, which was common in East Germany, and was confirmed instead. Later, at the Academy of Sciences, she became a member of the FDJ district board and secretary for "Agitprop" (Agitation and Propaganda). Merkel herself claimed that she was secretary for culture. When Merkel onetime FDJ district chairman contradicted her, she insisted that: "According to my memory, I was secretary for culture. But what do I know? I believe I won't know anything when I'm 80.". Merkel's progress in the compulsory Marxism-Leninism course was graded only genügend (sufficient, passing grade) in 1983 and 1986.
Merkel was educated in Templin and at the University of Leipzig, where she studied physics from 1973 to 1978. While a student, she participated in the reconstruction of the ruin of the Moritzbastei, a project students initiated to create their own club and recreation facility on campus. Such an initiative was unprecedented in the GDR of that period, and initially resisted by the University of Leipzig. However, with backing of the local leadership of the SED party, the project was allowed to proceed. Merkel worked and studied at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin-Adlershof from 1978 to 1990. She learned to speak Russian fluently, and earned a statewide prize for her proficiency. After being awarded a doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) for her thesis on quantum chemistry she worked as a researcher.
, August 1990]] In 1989, Merkel got involved in the growing democracy movement after the fall of the Berlin Wall, joining the new party Democratic Awakening. Following the first (and only) democratic election of the East German state, she became the deputy spokesperson of the new pre-unification caretaker government under Lothar de Maizière.
Following Merkel's election as CDU leader, she enjoyed considerable popularity among the German population and was favoured by many Germans to become Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's challenger in the 2002 election. However, she did not receive enough support in her own party and particularly its sister party (the Bavarian Christian Social Union, or CSU), and was subsequently out-manoeuvred politically by CSU leader Edmund Stoiber, to whom she eventually ceded the privilege of challenging Schröder; however, he squandered a large lead in the opinion polls to lose the election by a razor-thin margin. After Stoiber's defeat in 2002, in addition to her role as CDU chairwoman, Merkel became leader of the conservative opposition in the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag. Her rival, Friedrich Merz, who had held the post of parliamentary leader prior to the 2002 election, was eased out to make way for Merkel.
Merkel supported a substantial reform agenda concerning Germany's economic and social system and was considered to be more pro-market than her own party (the CDU); she advocated changes to German labour law, specifically removing barriers to laying off employees and increasing the allowed number of work hours in a week, arguing that existing laws made the country less competitive because companies cannot easily control labour costs at times when business is slow.
Merkel argued for Germany's nuclear power to be phased out less quickly than the Schröder administration had planned.
Merkel advocated a strong transatlantic partnership and German-American friendship. In the spring of 2003, defying strong public opposition, Merkel came out in favour of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, describing it as "unavoidable" and accusing Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of anti-Americanism. This led some critics to characterize her as an American lackey. She criticised the government's support for the accession of Turkey to the European Union and favoured a "privileged partnership" instead. In doing so, she was seen as being in unison with many Germans in rejecting Turkish membership of the European Union.
In addition to being the first female German chancellor and the youngest German chancellor since the Second World War, Merkel is also the first born after World War II, and the first with a background in natural sciences. She studied physics; her predecessors law, business, history or were military officers, among others.
Merkel topped Forbes magazine's list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The coalition deal was approved by both parties at party conferences on 14 November 2005. Merkel was elected Chancellor by the majority of delegates (397 to 217) in the newly assembled Bundestag on 22 November 2005, but 51 members of the governing coalition voted against her.
and her husband Joachim Sauer.]] Reports had indicated that the grand coalition would pursue a mix of policies, some of which differ from Merkel's political platform as leader of the opposition and candidate for Chancellor. The coalition's intent was to cut public spending whilst increasing VAT (from 16 to 19%), social insurance contributions and the top rate of income tax. rm
Merkel had stated that the main aim of her government would be to reduce unemployment, and that it is this issue on which her government will be judged.
On 25 September 2007, Chancellor Angela Merkel met the Dalai Lama for "private and informal talks" in Berlin in the Chancellery amid protest from China. China afterwards cancelled separate talks with German officials, including talks with Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries.
Der Spiegel reported that tensions between Chancellor Merkel and U.S. President Barack Obama were eased during a meeting between the two leaders in June 2009. Commenting on a White House Press Conference held after the meeting, Spiegel stated, "Of course the rather more reserved chancellor couldn't really keep up with [Obama's]...charm offensive," but to reciprocate for Obama's "good natured" diplomacy, "she gave it a go...by mentioning the experiences of Obama's sister in Heidelberg, making it clear that she had read his autobiography".
On 4 October 2008, a Saturday, following the Irish Government's decision to guarantee all deposits in private savings accounts, a move she strongly criticized, Merkel said there were no plans for the German Government to do the same. The following day, Merkel stated that the government would guarantee private savings account deposits, after all. However, two days later, on 6 October 2008, it emerged that the pledge was simply a political move that would not be backed by legislation.
On 31 October 2005, after the defeat of his favoured candidate for the position of Secretary General of the SPD, Franz Müntefering indicated that he would resign as Chairman of the party in November, which he did. Ostensibly responding to this, Edmund Stoiber (CSU), who was originally nominated for the Economics and Technology post, announced his withdrawal on 1 November 2005. While this was initially seen as a blow to Merkel's attempt at forming a viable coalition and cabinet, the manner in which Stoiber withdrew earned him much ridicule and severely undermined his position as a Merkel rival. Separate conferences of the CDU, CSU, and SPD approved the proposed Cabinet on 14 November 2005
The second cabinet of Angela Merkel was sworn in on 28 October 2009.
She received the Karlspreis (Charlemagne Prize) for 2008 for distinguished services to European unity.
In January 2008, Merkel was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. She was also awarded the honorary doctorate from Leipzig University in June 2008, University of Technology in Wrocław (Poland) in September 2008 and Babeş-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca, Romania on 12 October 2010 for her historical contribution to the European unification and for her global role in renewing international cooperation.
From 2006 to 2009, Forbes Magazine has named her the most powerful woman in the world.
New Statesman named Angela Merkel in 'The World's 50 Most Influential Figures' 2010.
On September 21, 2010, the Leo Baeck Institute, a research institution in New York City devoted to the history of German-speaking Jewry, awarded Angela Merkel the Leo Baeck Medal. The medal was presented by former US Secretary of the Treasury and current Director of the Jewish Museum Berlin, W. Michael Blumenthal, who cited Merkel's support of Jewish cultural life and the integration of minorities in Germany.
On 17 November 2010 the White House announced that President Barack Obama will award her the Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honor in the USA.
In September 2010 due to a debate of integration Chancellor Angela Merkel said to the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper that "Germans will see more mosques". In October 2010, following a speech by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Christian Wulff during the German reunification day, she stated that "Islam is part of Germany".
Members of her cabinet and Chancellor Merkel herself also support the idea of, and are already introducing, Islamic education and classes in schools.
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