Ignazio La Russa

Ignazio La Russa was born in Paternò (province of Catania) on July 18, 1947. He lives and works in Milan. He is the father of three sons: Geronimo, Lorenzo, and Leonardo. He studied in St. Gallen, at a college in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and later earned a Law degree from the University of Pavia. His father, a war volunteer, fought in El Alamein and was among the non-collaborating prisoners of war. He was also one of the founders of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) in 1946 and served as a Senator from 1972 to 1992.

His political commitment, which he has lived as a passion since a very young age, did not prevent him from establishing himself as a criminal lawyer authorized to practice before the Court of Cassation. Notable among his cases were the civil party defenses in the trials for the assassinations of Sergio Ramelli in Milan and of Giralucci and Mazzola in Padua by the Red Brigades.

In September 1970, he became president of the Giovane Italia (Young Italy) movement in Milan, and later of the Fronte della Gioventù (Youth Front). As a leader of the Milanese right-wing youth, in 1976 he founded Radio University with Franco Servello.

In 1985, he was elected regional councillor of Lombardy with the MSI. In 1992, he was elected both to the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in Milan, receiving the most votes. In January 1994, in Rome, he chaired—on the recommendation of Giuseppe Tatarella and Gianfranco Fini—the congress that formally launched Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance), of which he was one of the most committed founders.

On March 27, 1994, he was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies and became Vice President of the Chamber. He was re-elected in all subsequent political elections to the Chamber until 2018, when he ran for and was elected to the Senate.

On June 5, 2001, he was elected president of the Alleanza Nazionale parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies. Under his leadership, the AN group supported the work of the Casa delle Libertà (House of Freedoms) government coalition in Parliament, distinguishing itself through a large number of legislative initiatives and political direction. Together with Roberto Menia, he introduced the parliamentary initiative that established the “Day of Remembrance”in honor of the victims of the Foibe massacres and the exiles from Istria, Fiume, and Dalmatia.

On July 29, 2003, he was appointed national coordinator of Alleanza Nazionale by party leader Gianfranco Fini. From November 2004 to July 2005, he served as deputy vice president of AN. From autumn 2004, he again served as president of the AN parliamentary group in the Chamber. In 2006, he was reconfirmed in this role.

On May 8, 2008, he was appointed Minister of Defense in the fourth Berlusconi government, and on May 11, 2008, became acting leader of AN, a position he held until the party’s merger into Il Popolo della Libertà (The People of Freedom), of which he became national coordinator.

Immediately after his appointment as Minister, he introduced by law the “Safe Streets”mission, which allowed military personnel to be deployed in cities for public order duties.

At the end of 2009, with the 2010 financial law, he initiated Difesa Servizi S.p.A., a company created to enhance the value of Defense-related trademarks, dispose of assets no longer needed for national defense, and carry out purchases following the Consip model.

Throughout his parliamentary career, he has worked toward the legal establishment of the “Day of Remembrance” for Italian exiles from Istria, Fiume, and Dalmatia thrown into the Foibe by Tito’s forces, as well as for the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers in International Peace Missions, and for the official recognition of March 17 as a national holiday for the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.

In December 2012, he announced his departure from Il Popolo della Libertà, along with a group of MPs who temporarily adopted the name “Centrodestra Nazionale” (National Center-Right), and shortly afterward, with the support of Giorgia Meloni, Guido Crosetto, and other MPs, Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) was officially founded. In the February 2013 general election, he was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies.

After serving 26 uninterrupted years in the Chamber (1992–2018), in the 2018 general elections he was elected Senator in the single-member district of Rozzano for the center-right.

On March 29, he was elected Vice President of the Senate.

On October 13, 2022, he was elected President of the Senate on the first ballot.