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Guido Crosetto

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Guido Crosetto
Crosetto in 2021
Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office
22 October 2022
Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni
Preceded byLorenzo Guerini
President of Brothers of Italy
In office
21 December 2012 – 4 April 2013
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byIgnazio La Russa
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
23 March 2018 – 13 March 2019[a]
Succeeded byLucrezia Mantovani
ConstituencyLombardy[1]
In office
30 May 2001 – 14 March 2013
ConstituencyPiedmont
Mayor of Marene
In office
28 May 1990 – 14 June 2004
Preceded byPaolo Lampertico
Succeeded byEdoardo Giuseppe Pelissero
Personal details
Born (1963-09-19) 19 September 1963 (age 61)
Cuneo, Italy
Political partyDC (1985–1994)
FI (1994–2009)
PdL (2009–2012)
FdI (since 2012)
SpouseGaia Saponaro
Children3
RelativesGiovanni Crosetto (nephew)
ProfessionBusinessman, politician

Guido Crosetto (born 19 September 1963) is an Italian businessman and politician who has served as Minister of Defence since 22 October 2022 in the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.[2][3]

A former Christian-democrat who served as an undersecretary at the Ministry of Defence (2008–2011), Crosetto was among the founders of the national-conservative Brothers of Italy (FdI) in 2012, of which he served as president from 21 December 2012 to 4 April 2013.[4]

Early life

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Guido Crosetto comes from a family of entrepreneurs from Cuneo,[5] in Piedmont. After his father's death Crosetto could not finish his studies in economics at the University of Turin. While at the university, he became a member of the youth wing of Christian Democracy (DC) and in 1988, at age 25, he became the economic advisor to Prime Minister Giovanni Goria.[6]

Political career

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From 28 May 1990 to 14 June 2004, Crosetto served as mayor of Marene, a small village near Cuneo where he lives, for three times.[b][7] In 1999, Crosetto was candidated to the presidency of the Province of Cuneo, as an independent close to the centre-right coalition. He reached the ballot against the outgoing candidate of the centre-left, the former Christian-democrat Giovanni Quaglia, but he lost. He held the office of provincial councilor of Cuneo from 1999 to 2009, holding the position of group leader of Forza Italia (FI), the centre-right political movement member of European People's Party (EPP) which was founded by the billionaire and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi and which he joined in 2000. He chaired the conference of Mayors of the Savigliano-Saluzzo-Fossano ASL from 1993 to 1997.[8]

In the 2001 Italian general election, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies with Forza Italia for the single-member district of Alba, gaining 49% of votes.[9] Crosetto was re-elected in the 2006 election and in 2008 he joined the Berlusconi's new The People of Freedom (PdL) party, with which he was elected again to the Chamber. Crosetto served as Undersecretary of State at the Italian Ministry of Defense in Berlusconi's fourth government from 2008 to 2011.

Founder of Brothers of Italy

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After Berlusconi's resignation in November 2011, Crosetto criticized the formation of the new cabinet led by pro-austerity economist Mario Monti. In December 2012, he founded Brothers of Italy (FdI), a national conservative party in opposition to the PdL and to the Monti government, with Giorgia Meloni and Ignazio La Russa,[10][11] From 20 December 2012 until 4 April 2013, Crosetto served as president of the party.[12]

Crosetto and Giorgia Meloni at a FdI rally in 2014

As a candidate for the Senate of the Republic, Crosetto failed to be elected in the 2013 general election, because FdI votes did not exceed the threshold set at 3% by the electoral law known as Porcellum.[13] In the following year, Crosetto ran in the 2014 European Parliament election in Italy, but he was not elected because once again FdI votes did not exceed the threshold set at 4% for European elections in Italy.[14] On the same day, Crosetto ran in the 2014 Piedmontese regional election as gubernatiorial candidate for FdI and ran alone outside the centre-right coalition led by Berlusconi's FI. In this election, Matteo Salvini's Lega Nord (LN) was allied with FI against FdI, supporting Gilberto Pichetto Fratin's candidacy. In the election, Crosetto arrived at the fourth place, gaining only 5.2% of votes.[15] Following the 2014 election defeats, Crosetto retired from politics in September 2014 and Salvini became closer to Giorgia Meloni's FdI because, without Crosetto, the party moved further to the right-wing.

Crosetto returned to politics when the deputy Daniela Santanchè, a right-wing businesswoman and former member of PdL and FI in Lombardy, joined Meloni's FdI in December 2017. Crosetto and Santanchè in FdI represented the small and medium-sized enterprises of Northern Italy in the 2018 Italian general election and they became respectively members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic because the party's electoral support increased, surpassing 4.3% of votes at the national level, for the first time.[16][17] However, Crosetto resigned on 13 March 2019 to continue his business career,[1] and after two days his former seat was assigned to the first candidate on the list of non-elected at the 2018 general election, the businesswoman and FdI member Lucrezia Mantovani.[18] In April and May 2019, as non-candidate spokesman of the party, Crosetto helped Meloni in the campaign for the 2019 European Parliament election in Italy and FdI, which became a member of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), increased its electoral support, surpassing 6.4% of national level votes, for the first time.

Business career in the defense sector

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In September 2014 Guido Crosetto left his political commitment and was appointed President of the Federation of Italian Companies for Aerospace, Defence and Security (AIAD) of Confindustria and in the same year he became Senior Advisor to Leonardo S.p.A.

In April 2020 he was appointed Chairman of Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, a company created as a joint venture between Fincantieri and Leonardo S.p.A., which operates in the naval engineering and systems sector, designing and building military naval units, in particular corvettes, frigates and aircraft carriers.

Minister of Defence

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Crosetto with President Sergio Mattarella in 2023

In 2022, a snap election was called after the 2022 Italian government crisis which brought to the fall of the national unity government of Mario Draghi opposed by FdI,[19][20] in a record-low voter turnout election,[21] Brothers of Italy became the largest party in the country, gaining more than 26% of votes and the centre-right coalition won a clear majority in both houses.[22][23] Crosetto did not run in the election, however, he campaigned for FdI and its leader, Meloni. On 22 October 2022, Crosetto was appointed Minister of Defence in the government led by Meloni herself, who became the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Italy.[24]

As a minister, Crosetto became one of the most vocal supporters of Ukraine against the Russian invasion.[25] In February 2023, he stated that the Ukrainian resistance was "a battle for freedom, a battle for international law, a battle for Europe".[26] Moreover he added that the NATO's military support to Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government prevented the break out of World War III, which would have been inevitable if "Russian tanks reached Kyiv".[27] Due to his statements, Crosetto has often been the target of attacks from members of the Russian government and elite. Former president Dmitry Medvedev labeled him as "foolish", while Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Group, heavily insulted him.[28] On 15 March, the Italian newspaper Il Foglio reported that the Wagner Group put a 15 million euro bounty on Crosetto.[29]

During his ministry, Crosetto often criticized the migration policies promoted by Germany and its chancellor Olaf Scholz.[30][31][32][33]

In May 2024, he criticized Israel's actions during the Rafah offensive in the Gaza Strip.[34] After a few days, he expressed opposition to the use of Western-supplied weapons for attacks inside Russia and stressed the need to "leave open the possibility of negotiating an immediate truce and initiating peace talks in the coming months."[35]

On 10 October 2024, Israeli troops opened fire at three UNIFIL positions in South Lebanon, including UNIFIL's main base at Naqoura, in the area of responsibility of the Italian contingent.[36] The attack damaged communication systems between the base and the UNIFIL command in Naqoura.[37][38] Crosetto described the attack as a "possible war crime" and urgently summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy over the events that occurred at the UNIFIL bases, where Italian personnel operate.[39][40][41] He also contacted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for a discussion and a formal protest asking for guarantees on the safety of Italian personnel and UNIFIL bases.[42][43]

Electoral history

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Election House Constituency Party Votes Result
2001 Chamber of Deputies Piedmont 2 – Alba FI 45,225 checkY Elected
2006 Chamber of Deputies Piedmont 1 FI –[c] checkY Elected
2008 Chamber of Deputies Piedmont 1 PdL –[c] checkY Elected
2013 Senate of the Republic Piedmont FdI –[c] ☒N Not elected
2014 European Parliament North-West Italy FdI 29,305 ☒N Not elected
2018 Chamber of Deputies Lombardy 3 FdI –[c] checkY Elected

Notes

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  1. ^ Resigned from office
  2. ^ In the comune of Marene, the office of Mayor before 1995 was elected by the Comunal Council (indirect election) without term limits. After 1995, the Mayor is elected by citizen (direct election) with term limits (only two consecutive terms). Before 1995, the term of the Mayor of Marene was five years, and from 1995 to 1999 the term was only four years; after 1999, the term is five years.
  3. ^ a b c d Elected in a closed list proportional representation system.

References

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  1. ^ a b "XVIII Legislatura – Deputati e Organi – Scheda deputato – CROSETTO Guido".
  2. ^ "Guido Crosetto, chi è il nuovo ministro della Difesa del governo Meloni". Skytg24. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Crosetto-Meloni, nasce la destra antiMonti". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Ignazio la Russa – Sito ufficiale di Fratelli d'Italia – Alleanza Nazionale". fratelli-italia.it. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. ^ "XVIII Legislatura – Deputati e Organi – Scheda deputato – CROSETTO Guido".
  6. ^ Il gigante di Marene che arriva dalla Dc. la Repubblica
  7. ^ "Anagrafe degli amministratori locali e regionali". 23 February 2017.
  8. ^ Crosetto Guido. Enciclopedia Treccani
  9. ^ Camera 13/05/2001 Area ITALIA Circoscrizione PIEMONTE 2 Collegio Alba. Ministero dell'Interno
  10. ^ "Crosetto e Meloni dal PDL a 'Fratelli d'Italia':trattativa con la Russa su nome e simbolo". 20 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Meloni e Crosetto dicono addio al Cavaliere". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  12. ^ Chi è (e cosa fa) Guido Crosetto, nuovo ministro della Difesa al posto di Guerini. Start Magazine
  13. ^ "Italy struggles with 'nightmare' election result". BBC News. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  14. ^ Renzi's triumph in EU vote gives mandate for Italian reform
  15. ^ Regionali 25/05/2014 Area ITALIA Regione PIEMONTE. Ministero dell'Interno
  16. ^ "Elezioni politiche: vincono M5s e Lega. Crollo del Partito democratico. Centrodestra prima coalizione. Il Carroccio sorpassa Forza Italia". La Repubblica (in Italian). 4 March 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  17. ^ Sala, Alessandro (3 April 2018). "Elezioni 2018: M5S primo partito, nel centrodestra la Lega supera FI". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  18. ^ "XVIII Legislatura – Deputati e Organi – Scheda deputato – MANTOVANI Lucrezia Maria Benedetta".
  19. ^ Roberts, Hannah (22 July 2022). "Berlusconi's big lunch: How Italy's right ousted Mario Draghi". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  20. ^ Roberts, Hannah (29 July 2022). "Russian links to Italian right threaten Meloni's election campaign". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  21. ^ "Proiezioni: FdI primo partito. Calano M5s, Lega e Forza Italia. Pd al 19%, Terzo polo al 7%" [Projections: FdI first party. Calano M5s, Lega and Forza Italia. Pd at 19%, Third pole at 7%]. RAI (in Italian). 26 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  22. ^ Kirby, Paul (25 September 2022). "Giorgia Meloni: Italy's far-right wins election and vows to govern for all". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  23. ^ "Speciale Elezioni 2022 di RaiNews" [RaiNews Election Special 2022]. RAI (in Italian). 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  24. ^ Guido Crosetto, chi è il nuovo ministro della Difesa del governo Meloni. SkyTg24
  25. ^ Ucraina, Crosetto: "Tutta la Nato vuole pace, ma bisogna essere in due". Adkronos
  26. ^ Crosetto: "In Ucraina evitiamo la Terza guerra Mondiale. Le colpe di Putin". L'ambasciatore russo Razov: "L'Italia pensi al suo ruolo nel Secondo conflitto". la Repubblica
  27. ^ Guido Crosetto: "Se i carri armati russi arrivano a Kiev scoppia la Terza guerra mondiale". Rai News
  28. ^ Il capo del gruppo Wagner contro il governo italiano. Il Post
  29. ^ I mercenari della Wagner mettono una taglia su Crosetto da 15 milioni di dollari. Dubbi sull'attendibilità della minaccia. la Repubblica
  30. ^ red, ORF at/Agenturen (1 October 2023). "Italien kritisiert Deutschland wegen Flüchtlingspolitik". news.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Crosetto contro Scholz: blocca i confini ma agevola altre vie". Agi (in Italian). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  32. ^ "Italy's Meloni complains to Scholz over migrant NGO funds – DW – 09/25/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  33. ^ Giuffrida, Angela (25 September 2023). "Italian PM 'astonished' at Germany paying charities for refugee rescues". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  34. ^ "Italy says violence against civilians in Gaza 'no longer justifiable'". Reuters.com. Reuters. 27 May 2024.
  35. ^ "Italy opposes Stoltenberg on using Western weapons against targets in Russia". Euractiv. 27 May 2024.
  36. ^ "Israeli troops fire at 3 UNIFIL positions in southern Lebanon, U.N. source says". Reuters. Reuters. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  37. ^ "L'Unifil: "Israele ha colpito tre nostre basi". Due indonesiani feriti. Nel mirino anche il bunker con i soldati italiani". ansa.it. ansa.it. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Crosetto in Libano colpito l'interno di una base italiana". tgcom24.mediaset.it. tgcom24.mediaset.it. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  39. ^ "Tank israeliano spara contro le postazioni Unifil: due feriti. Nel mirino anche le basi italiane". ilgiornale.it. ilgiornale.it. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  40. ^ "Libano, Crosetto: 'Colpito l'interno di una base italiana, personale in sicurezza'". ansa.it. ansa.it. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  41. ^ "Angry Italy protests to Israel after shots fired at UN in Lebanon". reuters.com. reuters.com. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Libano, attacco alle basi Unifil, l'Italia protesta con Israele. Meloni: 'E' inammissibile'". ansa.it. ansa.it. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  43. ^ "Israeli forces fired tank shell at UN peacekeeper position in Lebanon, UN source reports". jpost.com. jpost.com. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
[edit]
Party political offices
New political party President of Brothers of Italy
2012–2013 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Defence
2022–present 		Incumbent
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