Ignazio La Russa

Infobox_Officeholder
honorific-prefix = Onorevole
name = Ignazio La Russa


order = Italian Minister of Defence

term_start = May 8 2008
term_end =
primeminister = Silvio Berlusconi
predecessor = Arturo Parisi
successor = incumbent
birth_date = birth date and age|1947|07|18
birth_place = Paternò, Italy
nationality = Italian
profession = lawyer
party = The People of Freedom

Ignazio La Russa (born in Paternò, near Catania, Sicily 18 July 1947) is an Italian politician (PdL). He became Minister of Defence in the fourth cabinet of Silvio Berlusconi on 8 May 2008. [http://www.governo.it/Governo/Biografie/ministri/La_Russa_Ignazio.html]

On 11 May 2008 he was also elected Acting president of the National Alliance Party.

Career

After attending college in the Swiss German Canton of St. Gallen, he obtained a postgraduate degree in Law at the University of Pavia.

When he was 13, his family moved to Milan, where his father "Antonino La Russa" was a practising lawyer.

After serving as a Regular Army Reserve Officer, he has worked as a criminal defence lawyer at the Court of Cassation.

Over the last years, thanks to his professional background and balanced attitude towards sensitive judicial issuesFact|date=August 2008, he acted as spokesman for the Right on justice-related subjects. Also of note is his commitment with respect to other significant issues, namely security of citizens, immigration, reduction of the tax burden, safeguarding national identity, and the liberal professions.

He has shown a considerable interest in political activism since his student years.

In 1985, he was elected Regional Councillor for the Lombardy Region.

In 1992, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) to both the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies (A law of the time allowed a candidate to run for election as representative for both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. If the candidate obtained sufficient votes to be elected to both, he had to opt for one of the Houses. This law has been modified some years ago: now candidates have to choose the House they will run for in advance).

On 27 March 1994, he was re-elected MP and appointed Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

In 1996, he was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Parliamentary Immunity of the Chamber of Deputies, an office he has held for the entire 13th Parliament.

On 5 June 2001, he was elected Chairman of the Deputies of National Alliance Parliamentary Group at the Chamber of Deputies (National Alliance - Alleanza Nazionale, or AN - is an Italian right-wing party).

On 29 June 1993, the President of the National Alliance, Gianfranco Fini appointed him as First Vice-President of National Alliance.

Between November 2004 and July 2005 he was again Chairman of the Deputies of National Alliance. He held this office also during the following Parliament, as he was re-elected MP in the ‘Lombardy 1’ constituency.

On 8 May 2008, he was appointed Minister of Defence.

On 11 May 2008, he became Acting president of the National Alliance Party.

He is married and has three sons: "Geronimo", "Lorenzo" and "Leonardo".

Controversy

On 8 September 2008, as Minister of Defence under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he caused uproar when he praised the "patriotism" of Mussolini's fascist troops during World War II. He said: "I would betray my conscience if I did not recall that other men in uniform, such as the Nembo from the RSI [Italian Social Republic] army, also, from their point of view, fought in the belief they were defending their country." [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/09/italy] His party, the National Alliance, is the successor to the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement.

External links

* [http://www.ignaziolarussa.it/ Personal Site] it icon
* [http://www.difesa.it/Ministro/ Italian Minister of Defence Website] it icon