Rosy Bindi

The Honourable Maria Rosaria "Rosy" Bindi
File:Rosy Bindi foto Stefano Bolognini 2011.jpg
Italian Minister of Family
In office 17 May 2006 – 8 May 2008
Prime Minister	Romano Prodi
Preceded by	Roberto Maroni
Minister of Health
In office 17 May 1996 – 25 April 2000
Prime Minister	Romano Prodi Massimo D'Alema
Preceded by	Elio Guzzanti
Succeeded by	Umberto Veronesi
Personal details
Born	(1951-02-12) 12 February 1951 Sinalunga, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	Democratic (2007– ) Democracy is Freedom (2002–2007) Italian People's Party (1994–2002) Christian Democratic (1989–1994)
Profession	Political scientist
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Maria Rosaria Bindi, best known as Rosy Bindi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈrɔːzi ˈbindi]) (born 12 February 1951), is an Italian politician and the current President of the Antimafia Commission.

Career

Born in Sinalunga (Tuscany), she graduated in political science. She was standing near the lawyer Vittorio Bachelet when he was assassinated by the Red Brigades in 1980. She held the position of vice-president of Azione Cattolica, the most popular Italian Catholic lay association, from 1984 to 1989, the year she joined the Christian Democracy (DC) party.

After the dissolution of the DC party, Bindi joined the Italian People's Party and became a leading figure in The Olive Tree, the broad left-to-centre coalition led by Romano Prodi. Following the coalition's victory in the 1996 general election, she was named Minister of Health, a position she held also in the following governments led by Massimo D'Alema.

During her tenure at the Ministry of Health, through her circular "Circolare Bindi del 2 dicembre 1996", electroshock therapy was re-introduced in Italy to treat psychiatrised patients. It was later corrected by "Circolare Bindi del 15 February 1999" 'limiting' use of ECT in particular cases but without revoke it.

In the 2001 general election she was elected for the third time to the Chamber of Deputies in the college of Cortona representing Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. After the victory of The Union in the 2006 Italian general election, she became Minister for the Family, serving in that post until 2008.

Bindi competed for the leadership of the Democratic Party in the party's founding leadership election, and received 12.93% of the vote cast. She continues to work for the party, leading the Democrats, Truly faction.

External links

• Personal website (Italian)

Italian Chamber of Deputies
Preceded by Title jointly held	Member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies since 1994	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Elio Guzzanti	Italian Minister of Health 1996–2000	Succeeded by Umberto Veronesi
Preceded by -	Italian Minister of Family 2006–2008	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Pierluigi Castagnetti Carlo Leoni Giorgia Meloni Giulio Tremonti	Vice President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies 2008-2013 Served alongside: Rocco Buttiglione, Antonio Leone, Maurizio Lupi	Succeeded by Simone Baldelli Luigi Di Maio Roberto Giachetti Marina Sereni
Party political offices
Preceded by Romano Prodi	President of the Democratic Party 2009-2013	Succeeded by Luigi Zanda (Acting)