Who is Giorgia Meloni? How much do you know about Italy’s first female prime minister? Stick around for our compilation of fascinating facts about Giorgia Meloni.
Italian politician Giorgia Meloni, sworn in on October 22, 2022, is the first woman to serve as prime minister of Italy. Meloni has been active in politics, serving various roles like Minister of Youth and the leader of the right-wing political party called the Brothers of Italy (Italian: Fratelli d’Italia) since 2014.
Giorgia Meloni was born on January 15, 1977, in Rome, Italy, to Francesco Meloni and Anna Paratore. She’s a well-known figure in Italian politics, standing up for conservative values. With time, she worked her way up, taking on different important roles and getting noticed for her clear and confident style.
As the leader of the Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni has molded the party into a strong advocate for national conservatism, focusing on issues like immigration control, family values, and economic patriotism.
Known for her principled leadership, Meloni is dedicated to preserving Italy’s cultural heritage and confronting challenges with determination.
Keep reading to learn more fascinating facts about Giorgia Meloni.
13 Fascinating Facts About Giorgia Meloni
Check out these 13 facts about Giorgia Meloni that you might find pretty fascinating!
1. Giorgia Meloni’s dad abandoned the family when she was a baby
Girogia Meloni was one year old when her father Francesco left the family in 1978. He moved to the Canary Islands in Spain and remarried. Now, she has four step-siblings from her dad’s second marriage.
2. Her upbringing was financially challenging
Giorgia Meloni’s family has described her upbringing as financially challenging.
The house where she lived as a baby with her parents burned down in a fire. She was then raised in a working-class district of Garbatella in Rome that’s better known for cultivating left-leaning activists than producing fiery hard-right politicians.
Meloni says that her childhood and her family’s problems shaped how she sees politics.
3. Giorgia Meloni’s grandfather worked in radio, and her grandma was an actress
Giorgia Meloni’s father, Francesco, is the son of Nino Meloni, a radio director from Sardinia, and Zoe Incrocci, an actress from Lombardy.
4. Her dad was imprisoned for nine years in Spain
In 1995, Francesco Meloni received a nine-year sentence in a Spanish prison after being found guilty of drug trafficking.
5. Meloni is a big fan of fantasy
Meloni loves fantasy, especially J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. When she was a youth activist, she went to the Camp Hobbit festival and sang with the far-right folk band Compagnia dell’Anello, named after The Fellowship of the Ring. Later on, she named her political event Atreju, inspired by the hero from The Neverending Story.
6. She speaks four languages
Apart from her native Italian, Giorgia Meloni speaks English, French, and Spanish.
7. She is a Roman Catholic
Like many Italians, Giorgia Meloni was born and raised a Roman Catholic, and she has incorporated her religious identity as a part of building her national brand.
8. She gave birth to her daughter in 2016
Photo by @giorgiameloni via Instagram
Giorgia Meloni has one daughter born on September 16, 2016. Her name is Ginevra and her father is Meloni’s ex-partner, Italian journalist Andrea Giambruno.
9. She broke up with Andrea Giambruno due to a controversy involving him
On October 20, 2023, Meloni shared that she and Giambruno were breaking up.
This decision came after his lewd and chauvinistic comments, which were not aired but became known through the TV show Striscia la notizia. His remarks included making suggestive comments to a female colleague about a threesome.
The ex-couple had been together for 10 years, starting in 2015.
10. Meloni has long been a Euroskeptic
Meloni has been skeptical about the European Union for a while, suggesting Italy might leave the euro or even the EU in the past. However, the Italian prime minister assures that she would collaborate with the EU.
11. She resents being associated with Italy’s fascist history
In September 2022, Giorgia Meloni was reported to still support the old Italian fascist slogan “God, fatherland, and family.” Still, she has said she doesn’t like being linked to Italy’s fascist history.
12. Meloni took office around 100 years after Benito Mussolini came to power in Rome
On October 22, 2022, Giorgia Meloni made history as the first woman to be the prime minister of Italy. She started this role almost 100 years after Benito Mussolini took power in Rome.
Meloni says Mussolini’s ideas belong to the past. Many people in Italy and Europe are hopeful that she’ll stay true to her word.
13. She was the 7th most powerful women in the world in 2022
In December 2022, Forbes listed Meloni as the seventh most influential woman globally.