Paolo Gentiloni

Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo dʒentiˈloːni]; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy from December 2016 to June 2018.

After a lengthy career in local politics, Gentiloni was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2001. He served in the Cabinet under Romano Prodi as Minister of Communications from 2006 to 2008. In 2007, he was one of the senior founding members of the Democratic Party, and went on to become party president from 2019 to 2020. Gentiloni later served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2016 in the Cabinet of Matteo Renzi. Following Renzi's resignation in the wake of a failed constitutional referendum, the Democratic Party held discussions on his replacement. Eventually, Gentiloni won support from his colleagues, and President Sergio Mattarella appointed him Prime Minister on 12 December 2016.

Despite being considered a caretaker prime minister upon his appointment, during his time in office Gentiloni successfully delivered major reforms that had been delayed for many years, including the implementation of the advance healthcare directive, the reform of the voluntary sector and the passage of a new electoral law. He also introduced stricter rules on immigration and social security, in an attempt to counteract the European migration crisis. In foreign policy, Gentiloni built on his time as foreign minister by projecting a strong Europeanist stance, whilst at the same time building close relations with the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, and notably overseeing a normalisation of Italian relations with India after years of tensions. Gentiloni resigned as Prime Minister following the 2018 election. In September 2019, he was nominated by the Conte Government to become Italy's new European Commissioner, and was given the key portfolio of overseeing the European Union Economy.