# Irene Pivetti

Irene Pivetti (born 4 April 1963) is an Italian journalist, television presenter, and politician. From 1994 to 1996, she was president of the Chamber of Deputies. After leaving politics, she started a career in television, like her sister Veronica, a popular Italian actress.

## Biography

She is the daughter of director Paolo Pivetti and actress Grazia Gabrielli, sister of the actress, presenter, and director Veronica Pivetti, and granddaughter of the linguist Aldo Gabrielli (maternal grandfather). She graduated with honors in literature (philosophical address) at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan; after the degree, she worked as an editorial consultant. Between 1987 and 1990, she edited volumes on the Italian language for Motta Editore, Selezione, Mondadori, Club degli Editori, and De Agostini. She was married two times: first with Paolo Taranta (marriage annulled by the Roman Rota on her appeal) and then with Alberto Brambilla, from which she had two children and from whom she subsequently divorced.
From 1990 to 1994, Pivetti was in charge of the Catholic Council of the Lombard League, which later became Northern League. In 1992, she was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and she was re-elected in 1994. On 15 April 1994, at the fourth ballot, she was elected president of the Chamber of Deputies; at 31, she was the youngest president of the Chamber of Italian history. In the 1996 election, she was re-elected. On 12 September 1996, she was expelled from the Northern League for her opposition to the line of the Padanian secessionism. On 22 October 1996, she founded Federal Italy, which merged into the Italian Renewal in 1998. In 1999, Pivetti joined the UDEUR, of which she was president from 23 May 1999 until 2002.
In 2009, Pivetti was appointed councilor for work and vocational training in the municipality of Berceto, in the province of Parma. In August 2010, she was appointed image commissioner in the municipality of Reggio Calabria. In the 2013 Lazio regional election, she ran among the ranks of the Federation of Christian Populars, without being elected. In 2016, she was a candidate in the municipal elections of Rome among the ranks of Us with Salvini, also in this case without being elected. In the 2019 European election, she was a candidate to the European Parliament on the Forza Italia list.
In April 2020, the Prosecutor Offices of Rome, Savona, Siracusa, and Imperia started an investigation on her due to trafficking of non-compliant masks from China. In June 2020, the Prosecutor Office of Milan started another investigation on her due to money-laundering. These investigations are related to her activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, the Economic and Financial Police Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Milan carried out a preventive seizure of €4 million against her and one of her consultants, among the suspects in an investigation that focuses on a series of commercial transactions, in particular the purchase and sale of three Ferrari, which would have been used to clean up the proceeds of tax evasion. The sum was then released.
In September 2024 she has been sentenced to 4 years jail due to tax evasion and 3.4 millions euro have been confiscated.

## Electoral history

| Election | House | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result |
| 1992 | Chamber of Deputies | Milan–Pavia | LL | 3,272 | Y Elected |
| 1994 | Chamber of Deputies | Milan 10 | LN | 46,005 | Y Elected |
| 1996 | Chamber of Deputies | Varese | LN | 29,213 | Y Elected |

### First-past-the-post elections

1994 general election (C): Milan 10 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Coalition | Votes | % |
| | Irene Pivetti | Pole of Freedoms | 46,005 | 52.1 |
| | Mario Fernando Sassi | Alliance of Progressives | 26,600 | 30.1 |
| | Alberto Antonio Maria Fossati | Pact for Italy | 8,365 | 9.5 |
| | Sergio Luppi | National Alliance | 7,271 | 8.2 |
| Total | Total | Total | 88,241 | 100.0 |
1996 general election (C): Varese :
| Candidate | Candidate | Coalition | Votes | % |
| | Irene Pivetti | Lega Nord | 29,213 | 34.6 |
| | Luigi Zocchi | Pole for Freedoms | 28,687 | 34.0 |
| | Robertino Ghiringhelli | The Olive Tree | 24,548 | 29.1 |
| | Roberto Minidio | Tricolour Flame | 2,034 | 2.3 |
| Total | Total | Total | 84,482 | 100.0 |