Renato Schifani

Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (Italian pronunciation: [reˈnaːto skiˈfaːni]; born 11 May 1950) is an Italian politician who has served as the president of Sicily since 13 October 2022. Schifani was Silvio Berlusconi's chief whip and was a prominent member of the Senate of the Republic from 1996 to 2022. From 29 April 2008 to 14 March 2013, he was the president of the Senate of the Republic.

Initially a member of Christian Democracy, the ruling party of post-war Italy, Schifani joined Berlusconi's Forza Italia in 1995. He joined The People of Freedom when it succeeded FI as Berlusconi's party in 2009. He then joined the New Centre-Right party but left it in 2016 for the reformed Forza Italia. He won the 2022 Sicilian regional election and was elected president of the region.

During his career, Schifani has been the subject of Sicilian Mafia allegations. On at least two occasions, he had been associated with people who were convicted of Mafia offences, though Schifani has never been directly investigated or indicted for any Mafia-related matters.

Early life and education

Schifani was born in Palermo on 11 May 1950. He graduated at the University of Palermo, becoming a lawyer. Since he became a lawyer in 1976, Schifani specialized in trials at Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation (Italian: Corte Suprema di Cassazione), the major court of last resort. He also specialized in real estate regulations and became active in the debt collecting business. Filippo Mancuso, the former Italian Minister of Justice also born in Palermo, termed Schifani "the prince of debt collectors" (il principe del recupero crediti).