Virginia Raggi

Virginia Elena Raggi (Italian pronunciation: [virˈdʒiːnja ˈraddʒi]; born 18 July 1978) is an Italian lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of Rome from 2016 to 2021. A member of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), Raggi was first elected to the Rome city council in 2013. Raggi led her party to victory in the 2016 municipal election, becoming the first woman and first M5S member elected mayor of Rome. Following the M5S' defeat in the 2021 Rome municipal election, Raggi left office as mayor.

Background

Raggi was born and raised in the Appio-Latino quarter of Rome, and studied law at the Roma Tre University, specialising in judicial and extrajudicial civil law. Despite not having any prior political experience, she credits the birth of her son for sparking her involvement in politics. She was previously a member of local neighborhood boards before joining the Five Star Movement for Rome district XIV in 2011.

At the time of her election Raggi lived with her family in Ottavia in Northern Rome. She is married to fellow M5S member Andrea Severini with whom she has one child, born in 2009.

Rome City Council and the 2016 election

In the 2013 municipal election, Raggi was one of four members of the Five Star Movement elected to Rome city council. The maximum term of office lasts five years, but the resignation of mayor Ignazio Marino (a member of the Democratic Party) triggered early elections; Marino was ousted from office after more than half the city's councillors stepped down.