The president of Italy () is the head of state of the Italian Republic. Since 1948, there have been 12 presidents of Italy. The official residence of the president is the Quirinal Palace in Rome. Among the Italian presidents, three came from Campania (all from Naples), three from Piedmont, two each from Sardinia (both from Sassari) and from Tuscany, one from Liguria, and one from Sicily. No woman has ever held the office.
Election The president of the Republic is elected by Parliament in a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. In addition, the 20 regions of Italy appoint 58 representatives as special electors. Three representatives come from each region, except for the small Aosta Valley, which appoints one, so as to guarantee representation for all localities and minorities.
According to the Constitution of Italy, the election must be held in the form of secret ballot, with all senators, all deputies, and the 58 regional representatives all voting. A two-thirds vote is required to elect on any of the first three rounds of balloting and after that a majority suffices. The election is presided over by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, who calls for the public counting of the votes. The vote is held in the Montecitorio Palace, home of the Chamber of Deputies, which is expanded and re-configured for the event.
The president assumes office after having taken an oath before the Italian Parliament and delivering a presidential address. Presidents are elected to serve a seven-year term. Giorgio Napolitano was the first president to be elected to a second term in 2013, followed by Sergio Mattarella in 2022.
Presidents of the Italian Republic (1948–present) Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Took office Left officeEnrico De Nicola1 January 194812 May 1948Italian Liberal Party1947Luigi Einaudi12 May 194811 May 1955Italian Liberal Party1948Giovanni Gronchi11 May 195511 May 1962Christian Democracy1955Antonio Segni11 May 19626 December 1964 Christian Democracy1962Giuseppe Saragat29 December 196429 December 1971Italian Democratic Socialist Party1964Giovanni Leone29 December 197115 June 1978Christian Democracy1971Sandro Pertini9 July 197829 June 1985Italian Socialist Party1978Francesco Cossiga3 July 198528 April 1992Christian Democracy1985Oscar Luigi Scalfaro28 May 199215 May 1999Christian Democracy1992Carlo Azeglio Ciampi18 May 199915 May 2006Independent1999Giorgio Napolitano15 May 200614 January 2015Democrats of the Left /Independent20062013Sergio Mattarella3 February 2015IncumbentIndependent20152022
Timeline
Substitute of the head of state The Acting President of the Republic () is an office not explicitly provided for in the Constitution but deriving from the provision contained in the article 86.Articolo 86, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana, Brocardi On various occasions, officials had to intercede in the absence of a head of state (notably in the case of a president's resignation or ill health). Only Enrico De Nicola, who was elected to be provisional head of state by the Constituent Assembly of Italy on 28 June 1946, had an official title and took residence in the Quirinal Palace.Decreto legislativo luogotenenziale, parlalex.it The others took the powers but not the title of head of state. After the adoption of the Constitution in 1948, the president of the Senate of the Republic is eligible to take the powers of head of state in case of absence of the president of the Republic.
Portrait Name Term of office Party Election Took office Left officeAlcide De Gasperi13 June 19461 July 1946Christian Democracy —Enrico De Nicola1 July 194631 December 1947Italian Liberal Party19461947Cesare Merzagora6 December 196429 December 1964Independent —Amintore Fanfani15 June 19789 July 1978Christian Democracy —Francesco Cossiga29 June 19853 July 1985Christian Democracy —Giovanni Spadolini28 April 199228 May 1992Italian Republican Party —Nicola Mancino15 May 199918 May 1999Italian People's Party —Pietro Grasso14 January 20153 February 2015Democratic Party —
See also Italian presidential elections Lists of office-holders King of Italy, for previous Italian heads of state between 1861 and 1946 Prime Minister of Italy List of prime ministers of Italy Politics of Italy
Notes
References
External links – official website of the president of Italian Republic
it:Presidenti della Repubblica Italiana#Elenco dei presidenti della Repubblica Italiana