Who Is Giorgia Meloni? Far-Right Leader To Become Italy's First Female Prime Minister

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has been elected as Italy's next Prime Minister, making her the nation's first female prime minister. The head of the nationalist Brothers of Italy party will take over from Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

The 45-year-old Giorgia Meloni is expected to form Italy's most right-wing government since Benito Mussolini was prime minister during World War II. Meloni's victory comes after she ran on anti-immigration policies, plans to limit LGBTQ+ rights, and restricted access on abortions. She has also voiced her support for Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Following the vote, Meloni said that the Brothers of Italy party would "govern for everyone". She said during her victory speech, "If we are called on to govern this nation we will do it for all the Italians, with the aim of uniting the people and focusing on what unites us rather than what divides us."

Who Is Giorgia Meloni?

• Giorgia Meloni is an Italian journalist and politician who currently heads the political party, Brothers of Italy. She and her partner Andrea Giambruno, a journalist, have a daughter together.
• She has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006 and has been the European Conservatives and Reformists Party president since 2020.
• Meloni was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the 2006 Italian general election, where she became its youngest vice-president.
• In 2012, Meloni and politicians Ignazio La Russa and Guido Crosetto founded a political movement, Brothers of Italy.
• Meloni has opposed abortions and laws recognising same-sex partnerships and marriages. During a rally in 2019, she spoke against same-sex parenting and her speech went viral on social media platforms.
• She has also opposed the anti-homophobia law DDL Zan, claiming that there was no homophobia in Italy.
• In August 2022, the politician posted a pixelated video of a Ukrainian woman being raped. She tweeted the video and wrote, "One cannot remain silent in the face of this atrocious episode of sexual violence against a Ukrainian woman carried out in daytime in Piacenza by an asylum seeker."
• Meloni's tweet received criticism and she was accused of exploiting the survivor. The survivor condemned the publication of the video and declared that she was recognised by the video.

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