David Sassoli | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| President of the European Parliament | |
| In office 3 July 2019 – 11 January 2022 | |
| Vice President |
|
| Preceded by | Antonio Tajani |
| Succeeded by | Roberta Metsola |
| Member of the European Parliament forCentral Italy | |
| In office 14 July 2009 – 11 January 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Luisa Morgantini |
| Succeeded by | Camilla Laureti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Maria Sassoli (1956-05-30)30 May 1956 Florence, Italy |
| Died | 11 January 2022(2022-01-11) (aged 65) Aviano, Italy |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats |
| Spouse | Alessandra Vittorini |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature |  |
David Maria Sassoli (Italian pronunciation:[ˈdaːvidmaˈriːasasˈsɔːli]; 30 May 1956 – 11 January 2022) was an Italian politician and journalist who served as thepresident of the European Parliament from 3 July 2019 until his death. Sassoli was first elected as amember of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009.
David Sassoli was born inFlorence in 1956 toTuscan parents from Florence andPrato.[1] His name "David Maria" was chosen by his father in honour ofDavid Maria Turoldo [it], an Italianpresbyter and theologian.[2] He studied at the department ofpolitical science at theSapienza University of Rome.[3]
He began his career as a journalist at the newspaperIl Tempo inRome, before collaborating with various newspapers and the news agencyASCA.[1] His first national premiere was in 1985, when he interviewed the escaped left-wing terroristOreste Scalzone at theCentre Pompidou in Paris.[1] That year he moved to the Roman editorial office of the dailyIl Giorno, where he followed the main political and news events for seven years.[4] During this period, he was a direct witness to fundamental historical events, such as thefall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, being one of the many that brought the wall down physically.[5] He was enrolled in the register of professional journalists from 3 July 1986 on.[6]
In 1992, he became a reporter for television news programTG3, and in the same period he collaborated withMichele Santoro for some programs such asIl rosso e il nero (lit. 'The Red and the Black') andTempo reale (lit. 'Real Time'). In 1996, he hosted the programCronaca in diretta (lit. 'Live coverage'). After a few years, he was appointed anchorman ofTG1, where he became one of the most notable and popular journalists in the country.[7] In 2007, whenGianni Riotta was appointed the new director of TG1, Sassoli became his deputy director.[8] Sassoli was also a supporter ofArticolo 21, liberi di... (lit. 'Article 21, free to...'), an Italian association which includes journalists, writers, directors, and lawyers, with the aim of promoting freedom of expression.[9]
In 2009, Sassoli left his journalism career to enter politics, becoming a member of the centre-leftDemocratic Party (PD) and running in the2009 European Parliament election, for theCentral Italy district. On 7 June, he was elected member of the EP with 412,502 personal preferences,[10] becoming the most voted for candidate in his constituency.[11] From 2009 to 2014, he served as PD's delegation leader in the Parliament.[12]
On 9 October 2012, Sassoli announced his candidacy in the primaries to become thecentre-left's candidate as for the office ofMayor of Rome in the2013 municipal election.[6] He ended up in second place with 28 per cent of the vote, behind SenatorIgnazio Marino, who received 55 per cent, and ahead of formerminister of communicationsPaolo Gentiloni.[13] Marino would be later elected mayor, defeating the right-wing incumbent,Gianni Alemanno.[14]
In theEuropean Parliament election of 2014, Sassoli was re-elected to the Parliament, with 206,170 preferences.[15] The election was characterized by a strong showing of his Democratic Party, which received 41 per cent of votes.[16]
On 1 July 2014 Sassoli was electedVice-President of the European Parliament with 393 votes, making him the second most voted for Socialist candidate.[17][18] In addition to his committee assignments, he was a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.[19]
In the2019 European Parliament election in Italy, Sassoli was re-elected to the European Parliament, with 128,533 votes.[20] On 2 July 2019, he was proposed by theProgressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) as the new president of the European Parliament.[21] On the following day, Sassoli was elected president by the assembly with 345 votes in favor, succeedingAntonio Tajani.[22] He became the seventh Italian to hold the office.[23]
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In his acceptance speech, Sassoli talked about the European project as a dream of peace and democracy. He said European citizens showed that they still believed in the project and talked about being proud of European diversity.[24] He also added that "Europe will be stronger only with a Parliament which plays a more important role".[25]
Moreover, in his first public act as the newly elected president, Sassoli decided to pay tribute to all the victims ofterrorism in Europe, attending one of the sites of the2016 Brussels bombings to commemorate the victims atMaalbeek/Maelbeek metro station. He said: "We must pay tribute to the victims in the capital of Europe. We must commemorate the European citizens who were victims of these attacks. This is a tribute to all the victims of terrorism. I wanted to start my time as President with this symbolic act."[26]
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On 19 December 2019, Sassoli asked for the liberation ofOriol Junqueras, former vice president ofCatalonia and recently electedMEP, who was imprisoned after the2017 Spanish constitutional crisis. As a member of the European Parliament, Junqueras benefits fromparliamentary immunity. Sassoli urged the Spanish authorities to comply with the European Parliament ruling.[27]
In the midst of theCOVID-19 outbreak that was beginning to deeply affect European countries, on 2 March 2020 Sassoli ordered the cancellation of visits to the European Parliament and the suspension of more than 100 events.[28] On 10 March, he self-isolated in his Brussels residence after visiting Italy, as the Italian government ordered a national lockdown to deal with the spread of the virus.[29] Following a videoconference with the leaders of the political groups, on 19 March he called an extraordinary session of Parliament for 26 March to approve new measures to address COVID-19 and for the first time a remote voting system would be used.[30]
In June 2020, he signed the international appeal in favour of the so-called purple economy ("Towards a cultural renaissance of the economy"), published inCorriere della Sera,[31]El País[32] andLe Monde.[33]
In April 2021, Sassoli was included in a list of eight public officials that were banned by Russia'sMinistry of Foreign Affairs from entering the country in retaliation forEuropean Union sanctions on Russians.[34]
After the PolishConstitutional Court ruled that parts of theTreaty on European Union were incompatible with its constitution, Sassoli said that "today's verdict in Poland cannot remain without consequences. The primacy of EU law must be undisputed. Violating it means challenging one of the founding principles of our union".[35]
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On 14 December 2021, it was announced that Sassoli informed S&D MEPs of his intention not to seek a second term of office as of January 2022, alleging that "we have done a lot to enlarge the majority of Ursula von der Leyen, […] I don’t want to destroy the European front. For that reason, I will not be available".[36]
He was among the potential candidates of the Democratic Party to succeedSergio Mattarella in the2022 Italian presidential election.[37]
Sassoli was married to Alessandra Vittorini with whom he had two children, Giulio and Livia.[38] A leftist Catholic influenced by the ideas ofGiorgio La Pira anddon Lorenzo Milani,[39] he was an active member ofArticolo 21, liberi di... (lit. 'Article 21, free to...'), an Italian association founded on 27 February 2001 which includes journalists, writers, directors and lawyers and has the aim of promoting the constitutional principle offreedom of expression.[3][40] Sassoli was a fan of classical music and ofACF Fiorentina, his hometown football team.[3][1]
In September 2021, Sassoli was hospitalised inStrasbourg with a severe case ofpneumonia caused bylegionella.[41] The illness meant he was unable to carry out his duties for more than two months including missing the EU'sState of the Union. In December 2021, Sassoli was taken into hospital again, this time in Italy because of a "serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system" complicated by hismultiple myeloma.[42][43][44][45]
Sassoli died in the Oncology Referral Centre ofAviano on 11 January 2022, at the age of 65.[23][42] Astate funeral was proclaimed and celebrated on 14 January in Rome at theBasilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs. The ceremony was presided over by CardinalMatteo Zuppi, archbishop ofBologna and close friend of Sassoli since adolescence.[46] As per his will, Sassoli was buried in the cemetery ofSutri, a city nearViterbo where he often spent his free time with his family.[47]
| Election | House | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | European Parliament | Central Italy | PD | 405,967 |  YElected | [48] | |
| 2014 | European Parliament | Central Italy | PD | 206,557 | YElected | [49] | |
| 2019 | European Parliament | Central Italy | PD | 128,572 | YElected | [50] | |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of the European Parliament 2019–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Common Assembly: 1952–1958 | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary Assembly: 1958–1962 | |
| European Parliament (appointed): 1962–1979 | |
| European Parliament (elected): 1979–present | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
