President of Italy
| President of the Italian Republic
Presidente della Repubblica Italiana | |
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 Standard of the President | |
| Style |
President (reference and spoken) His Excellency (diplomatic, outside Italy) |
| Residence | Quirinal Palace, Rome |
| Appointer |
Italian Parliament Regional Representatives |
| Term length |
Seven years renewable optional |
| Inaugural holder |
Enrico De Nicola First President of the Italian Republic under current constitution, 1948 Napoléon Bonaparte First to use the title President of the Italian Republic (1802–1805) |
| Formation | Constitution of Italy |
| Salary | 230.000 €[1] |
| Website | Il sito ufficiale della Presidenza della Repubblica |
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Italy |
| Constitution |
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| Foreign relations |
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Related topics |
The President of the Italian Republic (Italian: Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy and in that role represents national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The President's term of office lasts for seven years.[2] The 11th President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, was elected on 10 May 2006 and elected to a second term for the first time in Italian Republic history on 20 April 2013. Following Napolitano's resignation, the incumbent President, former Constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, was elected at the fourth ballot with 665 votes out of 1,009 on 31 January 2015.
Contents
Qualifications for office
The framers of the Constitution of Italy intended for the president to be an elder statesman of some stature. Article 84[2] states that any citizen who is fifty or older on election day and enjoys civil and political rights can be elected president. The article also states that the presidency is incompatible with any other office, therefore the president-elect must resign any other position before being sworn in.
The 1948 Constitution does not put any term limit on the presidency,[2] although until 2013 no President ever ran for a second term. On 20 April 2013, President Giorgio Napolitano agreed to run for a second term in an attempt to break the parliamentary deadlock in the 2013 presidential elections and was duly re-elected that same day.[3] However, he made it clear that he would not serve his full term and retired in January 2015.
Election
The President of the Republic is elected by an electoral college comprising the two chambers of Parliament—the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic—meeting in joint session, combined with 58 special electors appointed from the 20 regions of Italy. Three representatives come from each region, save for the Aosta Valley, which appoints one so as to guarantee representation for all localities and minorities.
According to the Constitution, the election must be held by a secret ballot, with the 315 Senators, the 630 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 simple 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 Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the Chamber of Deputies, which is expanded and re-configured for the event.
The President assumes office after taking an oath before Parliament and delivering a presidential address.
Presidential mandate
The President’s term lasts seven years and this prevents any President from being reelected by the same Houses, which have a five-year mandate, also granting some freedom from excessive political ties to the appointing body. The Italian President's term may end by voluntary resignation, death, permanent disability due to serious illness, or dismissal as for crimes of high treason or an attack on the Constitution.
Former Presidents of the Republic are called Presidents Emeritus of the Republic and are appointed Senator for life. In the absence of the President of the Republic, including travel abroad, presidential functions are performed by the President of the Senate.
Role
The Constitution lays out the duties and powers of the President of the Republic, to include the following:
- In foreign affairs:
- Accrediting and receiving diplomatic functionaries.
- Ratifying international treaties upon authorization of Parliament (if required according to Article 80 of the Constitution).
- Making official visits abroad, accompanied by a member of the government.
- Declaring a state of war as decided by Parliament.
- In parliamentary affairs:
- Nominating up to five senators-for-life.
- Calling the Chambers of Parliament into extraordinary session and dissolving them.
- Calling elections and fixing the date for the first meeting of the new Chambers.
- In legislative matters:
- Authorizing the presentation of proposed governmental bills to Parliament.
- Promulgating the laws approved in Parliament.
- Remanding to the Chambers (with an explanation) and asking for reconsideration of a bill (permitted once per bill).
- Appertaining to popular sovereignty.
- Calling referenda.
- In executive matters and as to official protocol.
- Naming the Prime Minister of Italy and appointing Cabinet ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- Accepting the oath of the government.
- Receiving the resignation of a government.
- Promulgating laws by decree, which are proposed by the government alone. Unless acted on by Parliament, these measures expire after 60 days.
- Naming certain high state functionaries.
- Presiding over the Consiglio Supremo di Difesa (Supreme Defense Council) and commanding the armed forces.
- Decreeing the dissolution of regional councils and the removals of presidents of regions.
- In judicial matters:
- Presiding over the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura (Superior Judicial Council).
- Naming one-third of the Constitutional Court.
- Granting pardons and commutations.
In practice, the President's office is mostly—though not entirely—ceremonial. The Constitution provides that nearly all presidential acts must be countersigned by a member of the government (either the Prime Minister or an individual minister) as most presidential acts are only formal and real political responsibility is upon the government. Many of the others are duties that he is required to perform. However, pardons and commutations have been recognized as autonomous powers of the President.
Succession
According to Article 86[2] of the Constitution, in all the cases in which the president is unable to perform the functions of the office, these shall be performed by the President of the Senate, who would temporarily serve as acting president.
In the event of permanent incapacity, death or resignation of the president, the President of the Chamber of Deputies shall call an election of a new president within fifteen days, notwithstanding the longer term envisaged during the dissolution of the Parliament or in the three months preceding dissolution.
Residence
The president resides in Rome at the Quirinal Palace and also has at his disposal the presidential holdings of Castelporziano, near Rome and Villa Rosebery in Naples.
Timeline
Living former Presidents
There is one living former Italian President:
See also
- Italian presidential election, 2015
- List of Italian Presidents by longevity
- List of Presidents of Italy
- Wife of the President of the Italian Republic
References
- ^ "Roman Austerity: Parliamentary Salary Cuts a Drop in the Bucket" (in Italian). Spiegel Online International. 2 February 2012.
- ^ a b c d "The Italian Constitution". The official website of the Presidency of the Italian Republic.
- ^ "President Giorgio Napolitano re-elected". BBC News.
External links
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