CV
Personal Data
- Born in Rome on 4 August 1953
- Married with 2 children
- Lived in Paris, Bologna and Rome
Education and languages
- Classical studies at the 'Torquato Tasso' secondary school, Rome
- Degree in Law from 'La Sapienza' University
- Foreign languages: French, English and Spanish
Professional Activities
- Officer of the Italian Air Force
He completed officer training at the Florence AirWarfare School (Scuola di Guerra Aerea) and attended a specialisation course for Air Defence Controller at the Training Technical Centre at Borgo Piave. Assigned to the Operational Base of the 33rd Air Force Radar Centre, he worked as Air Defence Controller and was Head of the Operations Room monitoring Italian and European civil and military air traffic.
- Professional journalist and parliamentary journalist Editor of the Italian weekly 'Il Settimanale
- Presenter for the RAI 1 radio news programme
- Head of the Rome editorial office of the Italian daily 'Il Giornale' Special correspondent in Lebanon, the Soviet Union and Somalia
- Together with Silvio Berlusconi, he was one of the signatories of the founding act of Forza Italia
Political Positions
- European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner in charge of Industry and Entrepreneurship from February 2010
- European Commission's Vice-President and Commissioner in charge of Transport from May 2008 to February 2010
- Vice-Chair of the European People's Party, elected at the EPP Congress in Estoril in 2002, re-elected at the EPP Congress in Rome in 2006 and re-elected again at the EPP Congress in Bonn in 2009 and in Bucharest in 2012
- Member of the Bureau of the Group of the European People's Party. He has taken part in all EPP summits in preparation of the European Councils
- Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe, which drew up the text of the European Constitution
- Elected as member of the European Parliament in 1994, 1999 and 2004 with over 120 000 preference votes
During his 15 years of parliamentary activity he took part in many committees (Foreign Affairs, Constitutional Affairs, at the time chaired by the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, Transport and Tourism, Fisheries, Security and Defence).
- Head of the Forza Italia delegation in the European Parliament from June 1999 until May 2008
- Spokesman for the President of the Italian Council of Ministers during the first Berlusconi Government
Prizes
- April 3, 2014 - Gold Medal awarded by the Spanish Royal Insititute for European Studies for his efforts to support industry and entrepreneurship.
- April 2, 2014 - Aragon Empresa Award received by His Royal Highness Felipe the Prince of Asturias for his efforts in favour of industry and entrepreneurship
- February 10, 2014 - Premio Innovadores received by El Mundo for his support to industry, entrepreneurship and innovation
- January 20, 2014 - Honorary Professor at the European College of Parma
- September 24, 2013 - Certificate of Honorary Membership of the Club of Bulgarian Journalists against Corruption, in recognition of his initiative at Community level for the campaign against counterfeiting and successful strategies to communicate the EU.
- September 19, 2013 - Honor Empresa Aragon in 2013, awarded by the Ministry of Industry of the Government of Aragon, Arturo López Aliaga, in recognition of his contribution to business development in Europe
- January 23, 2013 - honorable distinction as Distinguished Visitor at the Catholic University of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, in recognition of his academic excellence, personal and professional, in line with the objectives and purposes of the University
- April 17, 2013 - Legion of Honour, the highest French recognition, received from the hands of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius
- February 4, 2013 – Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit from Spain
- September 15, 2012 - Leonardo da Vinci Award received from the Italian Federation of Sports Medicine for the efforts in Europe and internationally in defense of common values
- April 17, 2012 - Honors for the commitment for SMEs and EU integration, Spanish Royal Institute of European Studies
- March 28, 2012 - Prize established by the Optical Society of America for his commitment to the promotion of Key Enabling Technologies.
- March 19, 2012 - Europe Prize 2011 by the Initiative Group of the Italians in Brussels (GII) for his strong commitment for the business community - in particular SMEs - and the promotion of the image of Italy in Europe
- November 21, 2011 - International Journalism Prize "Argil: European man" in the category: "Communicating Europe".
