Beatrice Lorenzin | |
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| Minister of Health | |
| In office 28 April 2013 – 1 June 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Enrico Letta Matteo Renzi Paolo Gentiloni |
| Preceded by | Renato Balduzzi |
| Succeeded by | Giulia Grillo |
| Member of the Senate | |
| Assumed office 13 October 2022 | |
| Constituency | Veneto |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 29 April 2008 – 13 October 2022 | |
| Constituency | Lazio 1(2008–2018) Modena(2018–2022) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1971-10-14)14 October 1971 (age 53) Rome,Italy |
| Political party | FI(1996–2009) PdL(2009–2013) NCD(2013–2017) AP(2017–2019) PD(2019–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Beatrice Lorenzin (born 14 October 1971) is an Italian politician belonging to theDemocratic Party, former leader ofPopular Alternative, and formerMinister of Health from 28 April 2013 to 1 June 2018, in the governments ofEnrico Letta,Matteo Renzi andPaolo Gentiloni. In 2018 she became one of the longest-serving health minister in the history of theItalian Republic.
Beatrice Lorenzin was born inRome on 14 October 1971.[1] Her father wasIstrian Italian, forced to leave his home during theIstrian–Dalmatian exodus. After graduating from high school (classical lyceum),[2] she enrolled in the faculty of law, but did not complete her studies[citation needed].
Lorenzin works with the local newspaper "Il Giornale di Ostia",[3] before entering politics, joining in 1996 a local section of the youth movement ofForza Italia, the liberal conservative political party led by media magnateSilvio Berlusconi.[4] In October 1997 was elected to the council of Rome's 13th district.[4] In April 1999 she became regional coordinator of the FI's youth movement.[4] In May 2001, she was also elected town councilor of Rome, for the centre-right coalition.[4] In 2005 she was appointed coordinator of theLazio group of Forza Italia and served in the post until 2006.[5]
In the2008 general election, Lorenzin was elected for the first time in theChamber of Deputies, running in the centre-rightPeople of Freedom, the new party led by Berlusconi.[6] During the legislature she was a member of the Constitutional Affairs Commission and became a notable politician of the centre-right coalition.
She was re-elected deputy in the2013 general election; the elections resulted in ahung parliament, and no political coalitions had a majority of seats to govern alone.[7][8] So the two main parties, the centre-leftDemocratic Party, the centre-right People of Freedom, supported by the centristCivic Choice, established aGrand coalition government, led by the vice secretary of the PD,Enrico Letta.[9]
On 28 April 2013 Lorenzin was appointedMinister of Health inthe grand coalition cabinet.[10][11] Lorenzin succeededRenato Balduzzi, an independent, who served in the technocratic government ofMario Monti.[12]
In May 2013 as Minister of Health she approved the decision to start testing theStamina therapy, a controversial alternative "medical treatment" invented by Italian former professor ofpsychology.[13] In that period rose up an intense pressure from the media and an increasingly insistent pro-Stamina street demonstrations;[14] while the Italian and international scientific community contested the government's decision.[15][16] However the tests ended in October 2014.[17]
In November 2013, Lorenzin and otherPeople of Freedom ministers, known as "doves", who were strong supporters of Letta's government, refused to join the newForza Italia (FI), founded upon the dissolution of the PdL by Berlusconi.[18][19] All five PdL ministers, three under-secretaries, 30senators and 27deputies immediately joined a new party calledNew Centre-Right, led by the Interior MinisterAngelino Alfano.[20]
On 13 February 2014, following tensions with his rival and new Secretary of theDemocratic Party,Matteo Renzi, Letta announced he would resign as Prime Minister the following day. On 22 February Renzi was sworn in as Prime Minister and Lorenzin was confirmed as Health Minister.[21]
In May 2014 Lorenzinrun for theEuropean Parliament inCentral Italy, gained merely 33,437 votes and therefore was not elected.[22]
In June 2016 Lorenzin supportedAlfio Marchini (as well supported bySilvio Berlusconi) as a candidate to become Mayor of Rome: in this occasion Lorenzin party had a disastrous electoral result, gathering just 15.458 votes in all Rome area (1,29% of total)[22][23]
On 12 December 2016, when Renzi resigned as Prime Minister after theconstitutional referendum, Lorenzin was confirmed as Health Minister by the new Prime MinisterPaolo Gentiloni, member of the same political party of Renzi(PD).[24]
In March 2017 she joined Alfano's new centrist party,Popular Alternative (AP).[25]
On 19 May 2017, the Council of Ministers, on her proposal, approved a decree law containing urgentvaccine prevention measures that reintroduces the mandatory vaccination, bringing the number of mandatory vaccines from 4 to 12 and not allowing those who have not been vaccinated to attend school.[26][27]
In December 2017 Alfano announced that he would not stand in the2018 general election and Popular Alternative suffered the split of a large centre-right faction, whose members wanted to re-align with thecentre-right coalition. The rump of the party continued its alliance with theDemocratic Party, by formally entering thecentre-left coalition, and, with Alfano's backing, Lorenzin, became AP'sde facto leader on 17 December 2017.[28] On 29 December she launchedPopular Civic List, a centrist joint list formed by AP,Centrists for Europe,Solidary Democracy andItaly of Values;[29] on the same day Lorenzin was elected leader.[30]
Beatrice Lorenzin run in the general election of 4 March inModena, a traditionally leftist area in Northern Italy,[31] and has won only thanks to the vote of the Democratic Party, while her own list took only 0.5% of the votes.[32]
In September 2019, Lorenzin joined theDemocratic Party.[33]
In August 2016 Beatrice Lorenzin announced the celebration of a 'Fertility day' for the following 22 September,[34] but the images chosen for the campaign were perceived as offensive in Italy[35] and abroad.[36] A second pamphlet issued by the Ministry after the first controversy raised a further wave of outrage as perceived as racist.[37][38] The pamphlet was withdrawn and the responsible for the communication of the Ministry, Daniela Rodorigo, was fired in September 2016.[39][40]
Media related toBeatrice Lorenzin at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Italian Minister of Health 2013–2018 | Succeeded by |
Letta Cabinet (2013–14) | ||
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Renzi Cabinet (2014–16) | ||
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Prime Minister | | |