Deputy Prime Minister of Italy
The Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, officially Vice-President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic (Italian: Vicepresidente del Consiglio dei ministri della Repubblica Italiana), is a senior member of the Italian Cabinet. Moreover, it is often colloquially known as Vicepremier.[2][3] The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices to give seniority to a particular Cabinet minister. The office is currently held by Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani under Giorgia Meloni's premiership.
Vice President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic | |
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Vicepresidente del Consiglio dei Ministri della Repubblica Italiana | |
Council of Ministers | |
Nominator | Prime Minister of Italy |
Appointer | Council of Ministers[1] |
Inaugural holder | Palmiro Togliatti |
Formation | April 24, 1944 |
The office is not mentioned in the Constitution. Their powers are defined by statutory provisions, most importantly article 8 of law no. 400 of 1998 (Italian: legge n. 400 del 1998).
The Deputy Prime Minister assumes the duties and powers of the Prime Minister when the latter becomes unable to discharge his or her duties. In case none was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, such a duty falls upon the oldest Minister, while if there are multiple Deputy Prime Ministers serving at the same time, it falls upon the oldest of them.
The Deputy Prime Minister does not automatically succeed the Prime Minister in case the latter resigns, as conventionally, in the aftermath of a resignation, the outgoing Prime Minister remains in place to handle day-to-day business until Parliament picks a successor.
In practice, the designation of someone to the role of Deputy Prime Minister may also provide additional practical status within cabinet, enabling the exercise of de facto, if not de jure, power.
In a coalition government, as Enrico Letta Grand coalition government between the Democrats and The People of Freedom, the appointment of the secretary of the smaller party (in the 2014 case, Angelino Alfano, secretary of the PdL) as Deputy Prime Minister is done to give that person more authority within the cabinet to enforce the coalition's agreed-upon agenda.[4]
List of deputy prime ministers
Kingdom of Italy
- Parties
- 1944–1946:
- Coalitions
- 1944–1946:
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | Cabinet | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
Palmiro Togliatti (1893–1964) |
24 April 1944 | 18 June 1944 | 55 days | Italian Communist Party | Badoglio II | |||
Office not in use | 18 June 1944 – 12 December 1944 | Bonomi II | ||||||
Palmiro Togliatti (1893–1964) |
12 December 1944 | 21 June 1945 | 1 year, 9 days | Italian Communist Party | Bonomi III | |||
Giulio Rodinò (1875–1946) |
Christian Democracy | |||||||
Pietro Nenni (1891–1980) |
21 June 1945 | 10 December 1945 | 172 days | Italian Socialist Party | Parri | |||
Manlio Brosio (1897–1980) |
Italian Liberal Party | |||||||
Pietro Nenni (1891–1980) |
10 December 1945 | 13 July 1946 | 262 days | Italian Socialist Party | De Gasperi I |
Italian Republic
- Parties
- 1946–1994:
- 1994–present:
- Coalitions
- 1946–1994:
- 1994–present:
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | Cabinet | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
Luigi Einaudi (1874–1961) |
31 May 1947 | 23 May 1948 | 358 days | Italian Liberal Party | De Gasperi IV | |||
Randolfo Pacciardi (1899–1991) |
Italian Republican Party | |||||||
Giuseppe Saragat (1898–1988) |
Italian Democratic Socialist Party | |||||||
Attilio Piccioni (1892–1976) |
23 May 1948 | 27 January 1950 | 1 year, 249 days | Christian Democracy | De Gasperi V | |||
Giovanni Porzio (1873–1962) |
Italian Liberal Party | |||||||
Giuseppe Saragat (1898–1988) |
Italian Democratic Socialist Party | |||||||
Office not in use | 27 January 1950 – 26 July 1951 | De Gasperi VI | ||||||
Attilio Piccioni (1892–1976) |
26 July 1951 | 17 August 1953 | 2 years, 22 days | Christian Democracy | De Gasperi VII·VIII | |||
Office not in use | 17 August 1953 – 10 February 1954 | Pella Fanfani I |
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Giuseppe Saragat (1898–1988) |
10 February 1954 | 19 May 1957 | 3 years, 98 days | Italian Democratic Socialist Party | Scelba Segni I |
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Giuseppe Pella (1902–1981) |
19 May 1957 | 1 July 1958 | 1 year, 43 days | Christian Democracy | Zoli | |||
Antonio Segni (1891–1972) |
1 July 1958 | 16 February 1959 | 229 days | Christian Democracy | Fanfani II | |||
Office not in use | 16 February 1959 – 26 July 1960 | Segni II Tambroni |
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Attilio Piccioni (1892–1976) |
26 July 1960 | 4 December 1963 | 3 years, 131 days | Christian Democracy | Fanfani III·IV Leone I |
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Pietro Nenni (1891–1980) |
4 December 1963 | 24 June 1968 | 4 years, 203 days | Italian Socialist Party | Moro I·II·III | |||
Office not in use | 24 June 1968 – 12 December 1968 | Leone I | ||||||
Francesco De Martino (1907–2002) |
12 December 1968 | 5 August 1969 | 236 days | Italian Socialist Party | Rumor I | |||
Paolo Emilio Taviani (1912–2001) |
5 August 1969 | 27 March 1970 | 234 days | Christian Democracy | Rumor II | |||
Francesco De Martino (1907–2002) |
27 March 1970 | 17 February 1972 | 1 year, 327 days | Italian Socialist Party | Rumor II Colombo |
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Office not in use | 17 February 1972 – 26 June 1972 | Andreotti I | ||||||
Mario Tanassi (1916–2007) |
26 June 1972 | 7 July 1973 | 1 year, 11 days | Italian Democratic Socialist Party | Andreotti II | |||
Office not in use | 7 July 1973 – 23 November 1974 | Rumor IV·V | ||||||
Ugo La Malfa (1903–1979) |
23 November 1974 | 12 February 1976 | 1 year, 81 days | Italian Republican Party | Moro IV | |||
Office not in use | 12 February 1976 – 20 March 1979 | Moro V Andreotti III·IV |
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Ugo La Malfa (1903–1979) |
20 March 1979 | 26 March 1979[5] | 6 days | Italian Republican Party | Andreotti V | |||
Office not in use | 26 March 1979 – 4 August 1983 | Cossiga I | ||||||
Cossiga II Forlani | ||||||||
Spadolini I·II Fanfani V | ||||||||
Arnaldo Forlani (1925–2023) |
4 August 1983 | 18 April 1987 | 3 years, 257 days | Christian Democracy | Craxi I·II | |||
Office not in use | 18 April 1987 – 29 July 1987 | Fanfani VI | ||||||
Giuliano Amato (1938–) |
29 July 1987 | 13 April 1988 | 259 days | Italian Socialist Party | Goria | |||
Gianni De Michelis (1940–2019) |
13 April 1988 | 22 July 1989 | 1 year, 100 days | Italian Socialist Party | De Mita | |||
Claudio Martelli (1943–) |
22 July 1989 | 28 June 1992 | 2 years, 342 days | Italian Socialist Party | Andreotti VI·VII | |||
Office not in use | 28 June 1992 – 10 May 1994 | Amato I | ||||||
Ciampi | ||||||||
Roberto Maroni (1955–2022) |
10 May 1994 | 17 January 1995 | 252 days | Lega Nord | Berlusconi I | |||
Giuseppe Tatarella (1935–1999) |
National Alliance | |||||||
Office not in use | 17 January 1995 – 17 May 1996 | Dini | ||||||
Walter Veltroni (1955–) |
17 May 1996 | 21 October 1998 | 2 years, 157 days | Democratic Party of the Left | Prodi I | |||
Sergio Mattarella (1941–) |
21 October 1998 | 22 December 1999 | 1 year, 62 days | Italian People's Party | D'Alema I | |||
Office not in use | 22 December 1999 – 11 June 2001 | D'Alema II Amato II |
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Gianfranco Fini (1952–) |
11 June 2001 | 23 April 2005 | 3 years, 316 days | National Alliance | Berlusconi II | |||
Marco Follini (1954–) |
2 December 2004 | 142 days | Union of Christians and Centre Democrats | |||||
Gianfranco Fini (1952–) |
23 April 2005 | 17 May 2006 | 1 year, 24 days | National Alliance | Berlusconi III | |||
Giulio Tremonti (1947–) |
Forza Italia | |||||||
Massimo D'Alema (1949–) |
17 May 2006 | 8 May 2008 | 1 year, 357 days | Democrats of the Left / Democratic Party |
Prodi II | |||
Francesco Rutelli (1954–) |
The Daisy / Democratic Party | |||||||
Office not in use | 8 May 2008 – 28 April 2013 | Berlusconi IV | ||||||
Monti | ||||||||
Angelino Alfano (1970–) |
28 April 2013 | 22 February 2014 | 300 days | The People of Freedom / New Centre-Right |
Letta | |||
Office not in use | 22 February 2014 – 1 June 2018 | Renzi Gentiloni |
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Matteo Salvini (1973–) |
1 June 2018 | 5 September 2019 | 1 year, 96 days | League | Conte I | |||
Luigi Di Maio (1986–) |
Five Star Movement | |||||||
Office not in use | 5 September 2019 – 22 October 2022 | Conte II Draghi |
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Antonio Tajani (1953–) |
22 October 2022 | Incumbent | 1 year, 6 days | Forza Italia | Meloni | |||
Matteo Salvini (1973–) |
League |