Matteo Renzi facts for kids

"Renzi" redirects here. For the surname, see Renzi (surname).

Quick facts for kids Matteo Renzi OMRI
Renzi in 2022

Prime Minister of Italy
In office 22 February 2014 – 12 December 2016
President	Giorgio Napolitano Sergio Mattarella
Preceded by	Enrico Letta
Succeeded by	Paolo Gentiloni
President of Italia Viva
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 December 2022
Preceded by	Position established
Secretary of the Democratic Party
In office 7 May 2017 – 12 March 2018
Deputy	Maurizio Martina
Preceded by	Matteo Orfini
Succeeded by	Maurizio Martina
In office 15 December 2013 – 19 February 2017
Deputy	Lorenzo Guerini Debora Serracchiani
Preceded by	Guglielmo Epifani
Succeeded by	Matteo Orfini
Member of the Senate of the Republic
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 March 2018
Constituency	Florence (2018–22) Campania (2022–)
Mayor of Florence
In office 22 June 2009 – 24 March 2014
Preceded by	Leonardo Domenici
Succeeded by	Dario Nardella
President of the Province of Florence
In office 14 June 2004 – 22 June 2009
Preceded by	Michele Gesualdi
Succeeded by	Andrea Barducci

Personal details
Born	(1975-01-11) 11 January 1975 (age 50) Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Political party	PPI (1996–2002) DL (2002–2007) PD (2007–2019) IV (since 2019)
Spouse	Agnese Landini (m. 1999)
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Florence
Signature

Matteo Renzi (born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. At 39 years old, he was the youngest person to ever hold the job. He has been a member of the Italian Senate since 2018.

Before becoming prime minister, Renzi was the president of the Province of Florence and later the Mayor of Florence. In 2013, he became the leader of the Democratic Party (PD).

As prime minister, Renzi's government made many changes. These included new labor laws to help the economy, updates to the government, and making civil trials simpler. His government also introduced civil unions for same-sex couples.

In 2016, he asked Italians to vote on a major change to the constitution. When the change was rejected in a referendum, he resigned as prime minister. In 2019, he left the Democratic Party to start his own party, Italia Viva.

Early life and career
Political beginnings
- Mayor of Florence
- Leader of the Democratic Party
Prime Minister of Italy (2014–2016)
After the premiership
Personal life
Images for kids
See also

Early life and career

Matteo Renzi was born in Florence, Italy. His father, Tiziano Renzi, was a local politician. Renzi grew up in a Catholic family in the nearby town of Rignano sull'Arno. In high school, he was a student representative and was involved in scouting.

In 1999, Renzi earned a law degree from the University of Florence. He worked for his family's marketing company. In 1994, he was a contestant on the TV game show La Ruota Della Fortuna (the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune), where he won a large sum of money.

Renzi became interested in politics in high school. In 1996, he joined the Italian People's Party. He later joined The Daisy party. In 1999, he married Agnese Landini, and they have three children.

Political beginnings

In 2004, Renzi was elected president of the Province of Florence. He was the youngest person to ever hold such a position in Italy. As president, he lowered taxes and reduced the number of government employees.

Mayor of Florence

Renzi in 2009 as the mayor of Florence

In 2009, Renzi was elected Mayor of Florence. As mayor, he cut the number of city council members in half. He also set up free WiFi spots around the city and spent more money on schools and social programs.

His popularity grew across Italy. He became known as il rottamatore ("The Scrapper") because he wanted to get rid of old-style politics. He believed that older politicians should retire to make way for new ideas.

In 2012, he tried to become the leader of the center-left coalition for the national election but lost to Pier Luigi Bersani. Renzi supported Bersani in the election campaign.

Leader of the Democratic Party

Renzi in 2012

After the Democratic Party (PD) did not do well in the 2013 election, its leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, resigned. Renzi decided to run for the position of party secretary. Many people saw him as a fresh face who could bring change.

In December 2013, Renzi won the leadership election with 68% of the vote. He became the new leader of the PD. Soon after, there were tensions between Renzi and Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who was also from the PD. Renzi felt that as the party leader, he should be the one to lead the country.

In February 2014, Renzi asked Letta to step down so a new government could be formed. The party leadership supported Renzi's idea. Letta resigned, and the president asked Renzi to form a new government.

Prime Minister of Italy (2014–2016)

Renzi announcing his new government

On 22 February 2014, Matteo Renzi was sworn in as Prime Minister. At 39, he was the youngest prime minister in Italian history. His government, or Cabinet, was also the youngest ever, with an average age of 47. It was the first Italian Cabinet to have an equal number of male and female ministers.

Renzi's government quickly began working on major reforms. He wanted to change Italy's economy, government, and laws.

Major reforms

Jobs and the economy

Protesters in Rome demonstrating against Renzi's labor reforms.

One of Renzi's first goals was to reform the job market. He introduced the "Jobs Act," a set of new laws to make it easier for companies to hire people. The goal was to help Italy's economy grow. The act was controversial and led to large protests from trade unions, who felt it weakened workers' rights.

His government also gave a small tax cut, known as the "Renzi bonus," to people with lower incomes. He hoped this would encourage people to spend more money. To raise money, the government sold hundreds of luxury cars used by state officials on eBay.

Government and voting changes

Renzi wanted to change how Italy's government worked. For a long time, Italy had two houses of Parliament with equal power: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. This system, called "perfect bicameralism," often made it hard to pass laws.

Renzi's plan was to reduce the Senate's power and size. Under his reform, the Senate would become a smaller body of regional leaders with less say over most laws. He also proposed a new voting law called the Italicum. This law was designed to give the winning party a clear majority, making governments more stable.

These changes were very controversial. Some critics worried the reforms would give the prime minister too much power.

Social policies

Same-sex civil unions

In 2016, Renzi's government passed a historic law recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples. This gave same-sex couples many of the same legal rights as married couples. The law was a major step for LGBT rights in Italy, a country where the Catholic Church has strong influence. The bill was passed after a long and heated debate in Parliament.

School reform

The government also passed a major school reform called La Buona Scuola ("The Good School"). The reform aimed to hire thousands of new teachers and give schools more freedom. However, many teachers and students protested the changes, especially the new ways of hiring and evaluating teachers.

2016 constitutional referendum

Because the government reforms were a change to the Constitution of Italy, they had to be approved by the people in a vote called a referendum. Renzi tied his political future to the vote. He promised to resign if the reforms were rejected.

The referendum was held on 4 December 2016. The "No" side won with nearly 60% of the vote. True to his word, Renzi announced his resignation that night. He officially stepped down a few days later.

After the premiership

After resigning as prime minister, Renzi remained the leader of the Democratic Party. He was re-elected as party secretary in 2017. However, after the PD performed poorly in the 2018 Italian general election, he resigned from the leadership for good.

In September 2019, Renzi announced he was leaving the PD to create a new political party. He named it Italia Viva (IV), which means "Italy Alive." He said he wanted to create a new political home for liberals and centrists.

In January 2021, Renzi and his party withdrew their support from the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. This caused the government to collapse. Renzi then supported the formation of a new government led by Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank.

Personal life

Renzi and his wife Agnese Landini with Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House in 2016

Matteo Renzi married Agnese Landini, a teacher, in 1999. They have three children: two sons, Francesco and Emanuele, and a daughter, Ester. The family are practicing Catholics.

Renzi is a big fan of football and supports ACF Fiorentina, the team from his hometown of Florence. Besides his native Italian, he also speaks French and English.