Rocco Buttiglione
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Rocco Buttiglione | |
---|---|
Minister of European Affairs | |
In office 11 June 2001 – 23 April 2005 | |
Prime Minister | Silvio Berlusconi |
Preceded by | Gianni Francesco Mattioli |
Succeeded by | Giorgio La Malfa |
Personal details | |
Born | Rocco Buttiglione 6 June 1948 UDC (since 2002) |
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Spouse | Maria Pia Corbò |
Occupation | Politician |
Rocco Buttiglione (Italian:
Buttiglione is a Professor of
In May 2006, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Turin.
Early career
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2018) |
Rocco Buttiglione was born in Gallipoli, Apulia, on the "heel" of Italy.
He studied law in
Rocco Buttiglione first attained attention on the
Buttiglione eventually joined forces with Berlusconi and the
Nominee for the European Commission
Background to the nomination
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2018) |
Following an increase of popular support for his
The new balance of power inside the ruling coalition effectively entitled the UDC to ask for even more and it was therefore decided that Rocco Buttiglione, already a minister in the government, would become Italy's member of the European Commission. As a result, his place in the Italian government was granted to another member of the UDC.
Rocco Buttiglione's apparent qualifications included speaking foreign languages, including English, German, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Polish.
In 2004,
Controversy
The nomination resulted in controversy. During his hearing before the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice And Home Affairs, Buttiglione - a Catholic - was asked about his stance on homosexuality and women. Buttiglione responded that while he considered homosexuality a sin, his personal opinion would not prevent him from moving against discrimination of homosexuals. He also stated his belief that the family "exists in order to allow women to have children and to have the protection of a male who takes care of them".[2]
The
Italian conservative and Catholic politicians and church leaders rallied to defend Buttiglione's views. "This decision shows the real face of Europe, a face which we don't like. It's fundamentalist, which is absolutely not on", said Justice Minister Roberto Castelli.[3]
On 21 October José Manuel Barroso attempted to defuse the row by indicating that civil liberties, human rights and discrimination issues would be handled by a special panel that would include Buttiglione but that Barroso himself would chair it. "The new Commission will be absolutely opposed to any kind of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender, or religious beliefs", he stated.
On 30 October Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government withdrew Buttiglione's nomination, keeping him in his office of minister in the Italian government. "The new soft totalitarianism that is advancing on the left wants to have a state religion. It is an atheist, nihilistic religion - but it is a religion that is obligatory for all", Buttiglione subsequently commented.
Foreign minister Franco Frattini was later indicated as a possible alternative, with the implicit promise that his ministry would then go to Gianfranco Fini, whose party had recently increased its influence in the government coalition. However, there were still rumors that Giulio Tremonti, supported by the Northern League, might be picked for the job, but eventually Frattini was nominated and appointed.
In response to the veto of Buttiglione's candidature, a collection of Christian personalities in 2008 (with Buttiglione himself as Founding Patron) formed the Dignitatis Humanae Institute to oversee the creation of a network of parliamentary working groups on human dignity across a diverse number of legislatures, with the aim of protecting the integrity of Christians serving in public life.[4]
Turin mayoral election
Rocco Buttiglione ran as the candidate for his coalition, the
Financial investigations
It has also emerged that Buttiglione was investigated by the authorities in Monaco in 2002 over possible illegal money laundering in favour of his political party. At the end no evidence was found that a crime had been committed. Giampiero Catone, a senior aide of Buttiglione, has been charged with "fraudulent bankruptcy" in Italy; and faces inquiries into the disappearance of millions of Euros of Italian and EU funds.[6]
Views on abortion
In an interview with
Publications
- Dialettica e nostalgia (1978)
- La crisi dell’economia marxista: Gli inizi della scuola di Francoforte (1979)
- Il pensiero di Karol Wojtyla (1982)
- Ethik der Leistung (1988; co-edited with Hans Thomas)
- La crisi della morale (1991)
- Die Verantwortung des Menschen in einem globalen Weltzeitalter (1996; co-edited with Rocco Buttiglione, Radim Palouš, Josef Seifert)
- Wie erkennt man Naturrecht? (1998; co-edited with Josef Seifert)
- Karol Wojtyla: The Thought of the Man Who Became Pope John Paul II (1997)
- The moral mandate for freedom: Reflections on Centesimus Annus (1997)
References
- ^ Honorary Doctoral Degrees at Universidad Francisco Marroquín Archived 2011-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ EU panel opposes justice nominee, 11 October 2004, BBC News
- ^ Italians 'affronted' by EU official row, Tamsin Smith, 13 October 2004
- ^ "Institute Supports Catholic Politicians in the Trenches". 31 March 2011.
- ^ Elezioni comunali 2006 - Piemonte » Torino, La Republica.it
- ^ The Daily Telegraph[dead link]
External links
- Honorary Doctoral Degrees, Universidad Francisco Marroquín
- Profile: Rocco Buttiglione (BBC)
- Rocco Buttiglione Responds - The Moral Maze Pt II
- Honors to Rocco Buttiglione at Francisco Marroquín University, New Media
- Member of the Advisory Council: the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project
- Pensare cristiano
- Buttiglione's page at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences