Elly Schlein

Elena Ethel "Elly" Schlein (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛlli ˈʃlain]; born 4 May 1985) is an Italian politician. She has been the secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) since 12 March 2023.[1] She is a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies and was previously the vice-president of Emilia-Romagna and a member of the European Parliament. On 26 February 2023, she was elected as the new secretary of the PD in an upset.[2]

Elly Schlein
Schlein in 2023
Secretary of the Democratic Party
Assumed office
12 March 2023
Preceded byEnrico Letta
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Assumed office
13 October 2022
ConstituencyEmilia-Romagna – 02
Vice President of Emilia-Romagna
In office
28 February 2020 – 24 October 2022
PresidentStefano Bonaccini
Preceded byRaffaele Donini
Succeeded byIrene Priolo
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 2014 – 2 July 2019
ConstituencyNorth-East Italy
Personal details
Born
Elena Ethel Schlein

(1985-05-04) 4 May 1985
Lugano, Switzerland
Nationality
  • Italian
  • Swiss
  • American
Political partyDemocratic Party
(2013–2015; since 2022)
Other political
affiliations
Domestic partnerPaola Belloni
Alma materUniversity of Bologna

Early life and education

Elena Ethel Schlein was born on 4 May 1985 in Lugano, Switzerland.[3][4] Her father, Melvin Schlein, is an American academic and political scientist of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.[4][5] Her mother, Maria Paola Viviani, is a professor of comparative public law at the University of Insubria.[6] Originally, her paternal grandfather's surname was Schleyen; after arriving at Ellis Island, he changed it to Schlein.[4] Her maternal grandfather was the Italian Socialist Party politician Agostino Viviani, senator from 1972 to 1979 and a member of the High Council of the Judiciary.[7] Her paternal ancestors were from Zhovkva, now located in Ukraine, and her paternal grandmother, from whom she takes the middle name "Ethel", was of Lithuanian origin.[4] She has a sister who is a diplomat by profession and a brother who is a mathematician.[8]

Later in life, Schlein moved to Bologna.[9] She graduated in law at the University of Bologna in 2011, discussing a thesis on constitutional law.[6] Schlein holds American, Italian and Swiss citizenships.[10]

Political career

Early beginnings, 2008–2013

In 2008 and 2012, Schlein volunteered on Barack Obama's two presidential campaigns in the United States.[9] In 2011, she was one of the founders of the association of university students known as Progrè, an association that dealt with deepening and sensitising public opinion on issues related to migration policies and the prison reality.[11]

In April 2013, Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister of Italy and president of the Democratic Party (PD), received in support less than 100 centre-left coalition electors and left the 2013 Italian presidential election campaign. In response, Schlein gave life to the mobilisation campaign known as #OccupyPD, which criticised those behind Prodi's loss and opposed the formation of a grand coalition government, the Letta Cabinet.[12] In the 2013 PD leadership election on 8 December, Schlein gave her support to Giuseppe Civati, who ranked third.[13]

Member of the European Parliament, 2014–2019

In February 2014, Schlein ran with the PD for a seat at the European Parliament in the North-Eastern constituency. In the 2014 European Parliament election in Italy, she was elected to the European Parliament.[14] She served on the European Parliament Committee on Development.[15] In addition to her committee assignments, she was part of the parliament's delegation to the European Union–Albania Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee.[15]

In May 2015, Schlein announced through a post on Facebook that she was leaving the PD, being in deep disagreement with the new political line of the party impressed by the party secretary and Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi, and joined Possible, the party founded by Civati.[16] In April 2019, Schlein announced her intention not to run in the 2019 European Parliament election in Italy.[17]

Vice-president of Emilia-Romagna, 2020–2022

In the 2020 Emilia-Romagna regional election on 26 January, Schlein ran as a candidate for member of the regional council of Emilia-Romagna as part of a left-wing electoral alliance called Emilia-Romagna Courageous Ecologist and Progressive.[18][19] She was elected with over 22,000 votes, the highest vote tally for a councillor in regional history, and was subsequently appointed by Stefano Bonaccini as his vice-president.[20][21][22] In February 2020, the PD's secretary Nicola Zingaretti offered Schlein the party presidency spot left vacant by Paolo Gentiloni.[9]

2022 general election and Democratic Party leadership run

In the general election held on 26 September 2022, she was elected to the country's Chamber of Deputies.[23][24] A few weeks later, following Letta's resignation as leader of the PD, Schlein announced her run for the 2023 PD leadership election.[25] In an upset,[26] for the first time in the party's leadership elections, Schlein overcame the second place of the closed primary,[27] by winning the open primary on 26 February 2023,[28] when she was successfully elected ahead of Stefano Bonaccini.[29][30] In doing so, she became the PD's first female, as well as the youngest person,[31] to be elected leader of the PD since the formation of the party in 2007.[32] She is also the first publicly-declared LGBTQ secretary of the Italian center-left leading party. During her rise in the party, she has been compared to American congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[33] She succeeded Letta on 12 March 2023.[34]

On April 18, 2023, Schlein expressed her personal opinion in favour of surrogacy.[35]

Personal life

In February 2020, Schlein came out as bisexual.[36][37][38] She describes herself as a feminist and a progressive.[39] Schlein has faced antisemitic abuse including conspiracy theories of being funded by the Jewish financier George Soros and comments on her nose, which she describes as of Etruscan and not Jewish origin.[40][41][42] In December 2022, arsonists destroyed a car used by her sister, Susanna Schlein, a career diplomat serving in Athens, prompting Italy's incumbent prime minister Giorgia Meloni to express her "profound concern".[43]

Elly's current partner is Cagliari-born Paola Belloni.[44]

References
  1. "Pd, Schlein: "Lavoro per la massima unità e per il rilancio del partito, l'assemblea il 12 marzo"". TGcom24. 27 February 2023.
  2. "Chi è Elly Schlein, la nuova segretaria del PD". Il Post (in Italian). 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  3. "Differenze e convergenze. Il confronto tra i sostenitori di Bonaccini e Schlein". newsrimini (in Italian). 23 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  4. Cazzullo, Aldo (18 February 2023). "Elly Schlein: O il Pd cambia o è finita. Io non ho nulla da perdere e per questo vincerò". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  5. Sbaffi, Giulia (12 February 2020). "Sapevi che Elly Schlein ha frequentato il DAMS? Tutto sulla giovane politica". Donna Glamour (in Italian). Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  6. Civati, Giuseppe (17 May 2014). "L'isola di Elly". Ciwati (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  7. Salati, Di Alexia (4 February 2020). "Il dubbio: Agostino Viviani, l'avvocato che sfidò le toghe. E perse… – Elly Schlein". Elly Schlein (in Italian). Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  8. "Elly Schlein's family: university professor parents, diplomat sister, physicist brother". Il Corriere di Bologna (in Italian).
  9. Sciorilli Borrelli, Silvia (13 February 2020). "Meet the Italian left's rising star". Politico. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  10. Pizzimenti, Chiara (27 February 2023). "Elly Schlein, la famiglia della nuova segretaria del Pd". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  11. "Chi siamo". progre (in Italian). 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  12. "#Occupypd, sedi di partito occupate dai giovani del Pd". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  13. "Elly Schlein, Civati segretario per il cambiamento: 'Il PD ha sbagliato tutto dopo le primarie'" [Elly Schlein, Civati secretary for change: 'The PD got it all wrong after the primaries']. BolognaToday (in Italian). 3 December 2013.
  14. "Europee, parla la civatiana Elly Schlein: "Vince il Pd, ma serve riflessione sul governo"". L'Espresso. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  15. "Elly Schlein". European Parliament. 4 May 1985. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  16. Capelli, Eleonora (9 May 2015). "Elly Schlein: "Volevo riportare Prodi nel Pd ma ora non sopporto più le troppe scelte di destra"". La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  17. Testa, Tiziana (12 April 2019). "Schlein: "Europarlamento addio, ecco perchè non mi ricandido"". La Repubblica. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  18. Fornasini, Elisa (27 December 2019). "Regionali, maratona per il deposito delle liste". estense (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  19. "Inaugurato il comitato di 'Emilia Romagna Coraggiosa': "Al centro ambiente e lavoro"". RavennaToday (in Italian). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  20. Laino, Gianmichele (27 January 2020). "Elly Schlein è la candidata più votata nella storia delle elezioni in Emilia-Romagna". Giornalettismo (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  21. Gagliardi, Andrea (29 January 2020). "Elly Schlein, l'outsider di sinistra più votata in Emilia Romagna". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  22. "Emilia-Romagna, la nuova vicepresidente della Regione è Elly Schlein". la Repubblica (in Italian). 11 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  23. "Parlamentari eletti alle politiche in Emilia Romagna: chi sono". il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 27 September 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  24. "XIX Legislatura - Deputati e Organi - Scheda deputato - SCHLEIN Elly". Camera dei deputati (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  25. "Elly Schlein ha fatto capire che vuole candidarsi alla segreteria del PD". Il Post (in Italian). 11 November 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  26. Balmer, Crispian (27 February 2023). "In surprise result, Italy's left picks Elly Schlein to rebuild party". Reuters. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  27. "Stefano Bonaccini ed Elly Schlein sono i due candidati alla segreteria del PD". Il Post (in Italian). 20 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  28. "Elly Schlein nuova segretaria, il Pd svolta a sinistra: «Saremo un problema per il governo»". Il Mattino (in Italian). 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  29. Nova, Redazione Agenzia (26 February 2023). "Elly Schlein è la nuova segretaria del Partito democratico". Agenzia Nova (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  30. "Chi è Elly Schlein, la nuova segretaria del PD". Il Post (in Italian). 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  31. "Chi è Elly Schlein, la nuova segretaria del Pd e prima donna a guidare il partito". Fanpage (in Italian). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  32. "Schlein first female leader of the Democratic Party, today the handover". Italy 24 Press News. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  33. Giuffrida, Angela (27 February 2023). "Elly Schlein voted leader of Italy's most important leftwing party in surprise win". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  34. "Pd, Bonaccini eletto presidente. Schlein: 'Basta liti interne'". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). 12 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  35. "Surrogate motherhood, Schlein says she is in favour of gestation for others: "Open for comparison in the Democratic Party"" (in Italian). Fanpage. 19 April 2023.
  36. Zincone, Vittorio (21 February 2020). "Elly Schlein, amori bisex e la politica per caso: «Ma io sognavo il cinema»". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  37. "Il coming out di Elly Schlein è perfetto perché non esiste un coming out perfetto". Gaypost.it (in Italian). 14 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  38. "Elly Schlein, una donna queer candidata alla segreteria PD - Gay.it". Gay.it (in Italian). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  39. "Elly Schlein è la prima donna alla guida del Pd: "Bisessuale, femminista e progressista" - Luce" (in Italian). 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  40. "Lo sfogo di Schlein: "Attacchi antisemiti per il mio naso e il mio cognome"". La Repubblica (in Italian). 3 February 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  41. Momigliano, Anna (23 February 2023). "Why This Rising Italian Politician Is Downplaying Her Jewish Roots". Haaretz. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  42. "Schlein, su rete ignobili attacchi antisemiti per il mio naso". Euronews (in Italian). 3 February 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  43. Stamouli, Nektaria (2 December 2022). "Italian diplomat's car torched in Athens". Politico. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  44. Ciusa, Maria Luisa Porcella (5 April 2023). "Paola Belloni, compagna cagliaritana di Elly Schlein si sfoga contro le foto rubate della sua quotidianità". cagliari.vistanet.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 June 2023.

Further reading
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