Paola Concia

Concia was born in Avezzano, Province of L'Aquila, and she graduated in sports science from L'Aquila's Istituto Superiore di Educazione Fisica; following her graduation, she has worked as a physical education and tennis instructor.[1] She first became involved with politics while at ISEF, and she was initially a member of the Italian Communist Party.[1]

Concia moved to Rome in 1992 following the death of her mother and the collapse of her marriage.[1] She worked as a parliamentary assistant before working as an adviser to Anna Finocchiaro, the minister responsible for equal opportunities.[1] Concia later advised Giovanna Melandri after her promotion to Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities in 1998.[1] Following the 2001 general election, Concia left politics to pursue her work in tennis.[1] She came out a year later.[1]

Concia was named as the Democratic Party's spokesperson on homosexuality, and she used her position within the party to become a prominent activist for equal rights.[2][1] She was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the 2008 general election.[3]

In August 2011, she married her wife, Ricarda Trautmann, in Frankfurt.