Nichi Vendola facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nichi Vendola
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| President of Italian Left | |
| Assumed office 26 November 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Maria Gabriella Branca |
| President of Apulia | |
| In office 27 April 2005 – 26 June 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Raffaele Fitto |
| Succeeded by | Michele Emiliano |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 15 March 2013 – 16 April 2013 |
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| Constituency | Apulia |
| In office 23 April 1992 – 3 May 2005 |
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| Constituency | Bari-Foggia (1992–1994) Bitonto (1994–1996) Apulia (1996–2005) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 August 1958 Bari, Italy |
| Political party | Italian Left |
| Other political affiliations |
PCI (1972–1991) PRC (1991–2009) SEL (2009–2017) |
| Domestic partner | Edward Testa (since 2004) |
| Alma mater | University of Bari |
| Profession | politician, journalist, writer |
Nicola "Nichi" Vendola (born 26 August 1958) is an Italian politician. He is known for his work in left-wing politics and for supporting equal rights for all people. He served as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Apulia from 1992 to 2005. Later, he became the President of Apulia from 2005 to 2015. Since November 2023, he has been the President of the Italian Left party. He was one of the first Italian politicians to openly support equal rights for all. He was also the first head of a regional government in Italy to do so.
Contents
Early Life and Activism
Nichi Vendola was born in Terlizzi, a town in the province of Bari, on 26 August 1958. From a young age, he was interested in politics. He joined the Italian Communist Youth Federation when he was fourteen.
He studied literature at university. His final project was about the famous poet and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini. After university, Vendola became a journalist for a newspaper called l'Unità. He also became an activist and a key member of the Italian organization Arcigay, which works for equal rights.
Vendola was part of the National Secretariat of the Italian Communist Party. He disagreed when the party decided to break up in 1991. Instead of joining the new party, he joined the Communist Refoundation Party.
Political Career
Serving in Parliament
In 1992, Nichi Vendola was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. This is like being a member of parliament. He held this position until 2005. During his time in parliament, he was part of the Antimafia Commission. He became well-known for strongly opposing the Mafia and other organized crime groups.
In 2005, Vendola decided to run for president of the Apulia region. He won the first primary election ever held in Italy for this role. This election was organized by a group of center-left parties called The Union. Some people thought it would be hard for him to win in a southern Italian region like Apulia, which is often seen as traditional. However, Vendola identifies as a "believer" and once said that the Bible was very important to him.
Leading Apulia Region
In April 2005, Vendola won the regional election in Apulia. He beat the current president, Raffaele Fitto. This made him the first member of the Communist Refoundation Party to become president of an Italian region.
In 2008, Vendola ran for Chairman of the Communist Refoundation Party. He did not win this election. After this, his supporters left their leadership roles in the party.
On 24 January 2009, Vendola left the Communist Refoundation Party. He then started a new group called the Movement for the Left. In December 2009, this movement joined with other groups to form a new party, Left Ecology Freedom. Vendola became the first leader of this new party.
In late 2009, there was some discussion about whether he should run for re-election as president of Apulia. Some of his allies wanted him to step down. They hoped a different candidate could get more support from other parties. Vendola refused to step down, and a new primary election was called for 24 January 2010.
Vendola easily won this primary election with more than 67% of the votes. He was chosen again to lead the center-left group. He then went on to win the main election, beating the center-right candidate Rocco Palese by a large number of votes.
In July 2010, Vendola announced he would run in the primary elections for the Italian center-left. These elections were seen as a preview for the 2013 Italian general elections. Polls showed Vendola doing well. However, in the primaries held on 25 November 2012, he came in third place and did not move on to the next round.
In the general election of 2013, Vendola was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the fifth time. However, he decided to stay as the head of the Apulia Region. He officially resigned from his deputy seat on 10 April 2013.
He could not run for president of the region a third time in 2015. So, he supported Michele Emiliano, who was the former mayor of Bari. Emiliano went on to win the election.
President of Italian Left
On 17 December 2016, the Left Ecology Freedom (SEL) party was dissolved. It merged with the Italian Left party on 19 February 2017. Since 26 November 2023, Nichi Vendola has been the president of Sinistra Italiana (Italian Left).
Personal Life
Nichi Vendola has a family. He is also a poet. Some of his poems have been collected in a book called L'ultimo mare (which means "The last sea"). A movie called Nichi was made about his life. Vendola is a religious person, but he sometimes disagrees with certain social views of the church.
In October 2018, Vendola had a heart attack. He received medical care and recovered well.
See also
In Spanish: Nichi Vendola para niños
- List of the first LGBT holders of political offices
- List of LGBT heads of government
