Mario Monti (ˈmaːrjo ˈmonti; born 19 March 1943) is an Italian
economistAn economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and academic who is
Prime Minister of ItalyThe Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
, as well as
Minister of Economy and Finance, since November 2011. Monti served as a
European CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
er from 1995 to 2004, with responsibility for the Internal Market, Services,
Customs and TaxationThe Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud is the member of the European Commission. The current commissioner is Algirdas Šemeta. The post was previously divided prior to 2010, with audit being under control of the Commissioner for Administrative Affairs.The post is...
from 1995 to 1999 and then for Competition from 1999 to 2004. He has also been Rector and President of
Bocconi UniversityBocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...
. Monti was appointed a
Senator for LifeA senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , 7 Italian Senators out of 322, 4 out of the 47 Burundian Senators and all members of the British House of Lords have lifetime tenure...
in the
Italian SenateThe Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
on 9 November 2011, and three days later was invited by President
Giorgio NapolitanoGiorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
to form a new technocratic government in Italy following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi.
Education and academic career
Mario Monti was born in
VareseVarese is a town and comune in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 55 km north of Milan.It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or urban part of the city is called Varesotto.- Geography :...
on 19 March 1943. His father hailed from Varese (though he spent much of his life in
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
after emigrating during World War II), and his mother was born in
PiacenzaPiacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
. Mario Monti holds a degree in economics and management from
Bocconi UniversityBocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...
, Milan. He completed graduate studies at
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he studied under
James TobinJames Tobin was an American economist who, in his lifetime, served on the Council of Economic Advisors and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He developed the ideas of Keynesian economics, and advocated government intervention to...
, the Nobel prize-winning economist.
He taught economics at the
University of TurinThe University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
from 1970 to 1985 before moving to
Bocconi UniversityBocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...
, where he was its Rector from 1999 to 2001, and has been its President since 1994. He was also the President of SUERF (The European Money and Finance Forum) from 1982 to 1985. His research has helped to create the 'Klein-Monti model', aimed at describing the behaviour of banks operating under monopoly circumstances.
Monti is a member of the Presiderium of the
Friends of EuropeFriends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think tank for European Union policy analysis and debate.-History:The organisation, established in 1999, has no political or national allegiance and is independent of the EU institutions...
, a leading European
think tankA think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
, and was the first chairman of Bruegel, a European think tank founded in 2005. He is the European Chairman of the
Trilateral CommissionThe Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller in July 1973 to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe and Japan.-History:...
, a think tank founded in 1973 by
David RockefellerDavid Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
. He is also a leading member of the exclusive
Bilderberg GroupThe Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 120 to 140 guests from North America and Western Europe, most of whom are people of influence. About one-third are from government and politics, and two-thirds from...
.
Monti has been an international advisor to
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and
The Coca-Cola CompanyThe Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
.
Institutional activity
Mario Monti started his involvement in the European Commission on a traineeship organised by
AIESECAIESEC is a global youth organisation that develops leadership capabilities through their internal leadership programmes and engaging students and graduates in international student exchange and internship programmes for profit and non-profit organisations. Its international office is in...
, a global student organisation promoting leadership.
In 1994 Monti was appointed to the
European CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, along with compatriot
Emma BoninoEmma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights...
, by the first
Silvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
government. In his capacity as
European CommissionerA European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...
from 1995, he was responsible for Internal Market, Financial Services and Financial Integration, Customs, and Taxation. His work with the Commission has earned him the nickname 'Super Mario' from his colleagues and from the press.
Four years later, in 1999,
Massimo D'AlemaMassimo D'Alema is an Italian politician. He is also a journalist and a former national secretary of the Democratic Party of the Left...
's government confirmed his appointment to the new European Commission under the presidency of former
Italian Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
Romano ProdiRomano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
. Thereafter he was responsible for Competition policy, in which capacity he initiated anti-monopoly proceedings against
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. He also led the investigation into the proposed merger between
General ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
and
HoneywellHoneywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
in 2001, which the European Commission blocked.
The second Berlusconi government did not confirm his appointment for a third time in 2004, instead proposing
Rocco ButtiglioneRocco Buttiglione is an Italian Christian Democrat politician and an academic.His nomination for a post as European Commissioner with a portfolio that was to include civil liberties, resulted in controversy as some political groups opposed him for his Roman Catholic views on homosexuality, despite...
in his place. Since Rocco Buttiglione was rejected by the European Parliament, the government proposed
Franco Frattini.
In 2007, Monti was one of the first supporters of the first European civic forum, Etats Généraux de l'Europe, initiated by European think tank EuropaNova and European Movement. He was also a member of the Commission Attali (2007–08) appointed by
Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
to provide recommendations to enhance economic growth in France.
In December 2009, he became a member of the future of Europe, chaired by former Spanish Premier Felipe Gonzalez. In this forum, he advocated an economic government for Europe and a European Monetary fund. He also supported a New European Deal with a better coordination between social and economic issues in Europe.
In 2010, Monti was asked by Commission President Manuel Barroso to produce a "Report on the Future of the Single Market" proposing further measures towards the completion of the EU
Single MarketA single market is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of production and of enterprise and services. The goal is that the movement of capital, labour, goods, and services between the members...
.
Monti is a founding member of the
Spinelli GroupThe Spinelli Group is a pro-European initiative that was founded with a view to reinvigorate the strive for federalisation of the European Union , by creating a network of citizens, think tanks, NGOs, academics, writers and politicians who support the idea of a federal and united Europe...
, an organization launched in September 2010 to facilitate integration within the European Union (other members of the steering group include
Jacques DelorsJacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...
,
Daniel Cohn-BenditDaniel Marc Cohn-Bendit is a Franco-German politician, active in both countries. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and he was also known during that time as Dany le Rouge...
,
Guy VerhofstadtGuy Verhofstadt is a Belgian politician who was the 47th Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.- Early career :...
,
Andrew DuffAndrew Duff OBE is a Liberal Democrat politician, president of the Union of European Federalists, and a Member of the European Parliament for the East of England region of the UK....
and
Elmar BrokElmar Brok is a German Member of the European Parliament and the former Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was elected on the CDU ticket and sits with the European People's Party group...
).
Prime Minister
On 9 November 2011, Monti was appointed a
Lifetime SenatorA senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , 7 Italian Senators out of 322, 4 out of the 47 Burundian Senators and all members of the British House of Lords have lifetime tenure...
by Italian President
Giorgio NapolitanoGiorgio Napolitano is an Italian politician who has been the 11th President of Italy since 2006. A long-time member of the Italian Communist Party and later the Democrats of the Left, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 1992 to 1994 and as Minister of the Interior from 1996 to...
. Mario Monti was seen as a favourite to replace Silvio Berlusconi to lead a new unity government in Italy in order to implement reforms and austerity measures. On 12 November 2011, following Berlusconi's resignation, Napolitano invited Monti to form a new government. Monti accepted the offer, and held talks with the leaders of Italy's political parties, saying that he wanted to form a government that would remain in office until the next scheduled elections in 2013. On 16 November 2011, Monti unveiled a technocratic
cabinetThe Monti cabinet is the incumbent cabinet of the government of Italy and was announced on 16 November 2011. The cabinet is composed of technocrats, three of whom are women. It includes 12 ministers with portfolio, and five without portfolio.-References:...
, and was officially sworn in as
Prime Minister of ItalyThe Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
. He also appointed himself as
Minister of Economy and Finance.
Personal life
Mario Monti is married, and has two children.
Known for his reserved character, Monti acknowledges not being especially sociable, explaining that his youth was given over to hard study, alongside spare time activities such as cycling and keeping up with world affairs by tuning in to foreign short wave radio stations.
Awards and decorations
See also
- List of Prime Ministers of Italy
- Monti Cabinet
The Monti cabinet is the incumbent cabinet of the government of Italy and was announced on 16 November 2011. The cabinet is composed of technocrats, three of whom are women. It includes 12 ministers with portfolio, and five without portfolio.-References:...
External links
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