Enrico Letta

Enrico Letta
Letta in 2024
Prime Minister of Italy
In office 28 April 2013 – 22 February 2014
President	Giorgio Napolitano
Deputy	Angelino Alfano
Preceded by	Mario Monti
Succeeded by	Matteo Renzi
Secretary of the Democratic Party
In office 14 March 2021 – 12 March 2023
Deputy	Irene Tinagli Peppe Provenzano
Preceded by	Nicola Zingaretti
Succeeded by	Elly Schlein
Deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party
In office 7 November 2009 – 20 April 2013
Secretary	Pier Luigi Bersani
Preceded by	Dario Franceschini
Succeeded by	Debora Serracchiani Lorenzo Guerini
Ministerial offices Secretary of the Council of Ministers In office 17 May 2006 – 8 May 2008 Prime Minister Romano Prodi Preceded by Gianni Letta Succeeded by Gianni Letta Minister of Industry, Commerce and Crafts In office 22 December 1999 – 11 June 2001 Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema Giuliano Amato Preceded by Pier Luigi Bersani Succeeded by Antonio Marzano Minister for the Community Policies In office 21 October 1998 – 22 December 1999 Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema Preceded by Lamberto Dini Succeeded by Patrizia Toia
Parliamentary offices Member of the Chamber of Deputies Incumbent Assumed office 6 October 2021 Constituency Lombardy (since 2022) Siena (2021–2022) In office 30 May 2001 – 23 July 2015 Constituency Marche (2013–2015) Lombardy II (2008–2013) Lombardy I (2006–2008) Piedmont I (2001–2004) Member of the European Parliament In office 14 June 2004 – 10 April 2006 Constituency North-East Italy
Personal details
Born	(1966-08-20) 20 August 1966 (age 58) Pisa, Tuscany, Italy
Political party	PD (2007–2015; since 2019)
Other political affiliations	DC (before 1994) PPI (1994–2002) DL (2002–2007)
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Spouse	Gianna Fregonara
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Pisa Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies
Profession	Politician professor
Signature
Website	enricoletta.it

Enrico Letta (Italian: [enˈriːko ˈlɛtta]; born 20 August 1966) is an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014, leading a grand coalition of centre-left and centre-right parties.^[1] He was the leader of the Democratic Party (PD) from March 2021 to March 2023.^[2] He is currently the Dean of IE University’s School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs in Madrid, Spain.^[3]

After working as an academic, Letta entered politics in 1998 when he was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for the Community Policies, a role he held until 1999 when he was promoted to become Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Crafts. In 2001, he left the Cabinet upon his election to the Chamber of Deputies. From 2006 to 2008, he was appointed Secretary of the Council of Ministers.^[4] In 2007, Letta was one of the senior founding members of the Democratic Party, and in 2009 was elected as its Deputy Secretary.^[5]

After the 2013 Italian general election produced an inconclusive result, and following negotiations between party leaders, President Giorgio Napolitano gave him the task of forming a national unity government (Letta Cabinet), composed of Letta's PD, the centre-right The People of Freedom (PdL), and the centrist Civic Choice, in order to mitigate the economic and social crises engulfing Italy as a result of the Great Recession. Following an agreement between parties, Letta resigned as PD Deputy Secretary and was appointed Prime Minister of Italy on 28 April 2013.^[6][7] His government tried to promote economic recovery by securing a funding deal from the European Union to alleviate youth unemployment and abolished the party subsidies, something seen as a watershed moment for Italian politics, which for years had depended upon public funds.^[8][9][10] Letta also faced the early stages of the 2015 European migrant crisis, including the 2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck, the deadliest shipwreck in the recent history of the Mediterranean Sea; in response, Letta implemented Operation Mare Nostrum to patrol the maritime borders and rescue migrants.^[11]

In November 2013, PdL leader Silvio Berlusconi attempted to withdraw his party's support from the government in order to bring about a change of prime minister; in response, all of the cabinet's centre-right ministers chose to leave the PdL and formed a new party, saying they wished to continue supporting Letta. Despite securing his position, the election in December 2013 of Matteo Renzi as PD secretary brought significant leadership tensions within the PD to public view. After several weeks of denying that he would seek a change, Renzi publicly challenged Letta for the position of prime minister on 13 February 2014. Letta quickly lost the support of his colleagues and resigned as prime minister on 22 February.^[12]

Following his resignation, Letta initially retired from politics, leaving Italy to accept appointment as dean of the School of International Affairs at Sciences Po in Paris.^[13] In March 2021, the PD secretary Nicola Zingaretti resigned after growing tensions within the party.^[14] Many prominent members of the party asked Letta to become the new leader; after a few days, Letta announced that he would return to Italy to accept the candidacy, and he was elected as new secretary by the national assembly on 14 March 2021.^[15][16] On 4 October 2021, Letta was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Siena district.^[17]