Chiara Appendino

Chiara Appendino
39th Mayor of Turin
In office
20 June 2016 – 27 October 2021
Preceded byPiero Fassino
Succeeded byStefano Lo Russo
Vice President of the Five Star Movement
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 December 2023
PresidentGiuseppe Conte
Preceded byAlessandra Todde
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 October 2022
ConstituencyPiedmont 2
Personal details
Born (1984-06-12) 12 June 1984 (age 40)
Moncalieri, Italy
Political partyFive Star Movement
Spouse
Marco Lavatelli
​
(m. 2010)​
Children2
Alma materBocconi University
ProfessionSports manager

Chiara Appendino (born 12 June 1984) is an Italian politician and sports manager, mayor of Turin and the Turin metropolitan city from 30 June 2016 to 27 October 2021 and vice president of the Italian Tennis Federation from 2 October 2020.[1][2] She is a member of the Five Star Movement (M5S).

Biography

Appendino was born in Moncalieri on 12 June 1984. She attended the liceo classico Vincenzo Gioberti in Turin and graduated from Bocconi University in Milan with a degree in International Economics and Management, majoring in economics and finance.

From September 2007 to January 2010, she worked as a controllore di gestione [it] for the Juventus football team; starting on 1 January 2010, she has been financial administrator in her husband's business.

Political career

Appendino's first political involvement was in the Left Ecology Freedom party. In 2012, she joined the nascent M5S. In the 2011 Turin local elections, Appendino was elected municipal councilor for the M5S, collecting 623 preferences.

On 8 November 2015, Appendino officially announced her candidacy for mayor of Turin in the 2016 Italian local elections. In the first round she received 30.92% of the vote at the ballot. On 19 June 2016, she was officially elected Mayor of Turin, picking up 54.56% of the vote in the second round, defeating incumbent mayor Piero Fassino, who received 45.44% of votes.

She did not run for the 2021 Italian local elections and was replaced as mayor by Stefano Lo Russo of the Democratic Party.

In October 2017, the Prosecutor's Office of Turin started an investigation on Appendino for falsity in a public document in connection with the city's 2016 budget.[3] She was first convicted on 21 September 2020 and handed a six-month suspended sentence.[4] On 16 May 2022, the Turin Court of Appeal acquitted her because the facts of the case did not constitute a crime.[5]

In November 2017, an investigation started into lack of safety during incidents at Piazza San Carlo, where one person died and more than 1,500 were injured in the 2017 Turin stampede during the UEFA Champions League final match between Juventus and Real Madrid on 5 June.[6][7] One of the injured people became tetraplegic and eventually died on 25 January 2019.[8] On 27 January 2021, she was sentenced in first instance to 18 months jail for her responsibilities during the stampede in Piazza San Carlo.[9] She appealed.

In June 2019, a third investigation was started based on peculation. The case was dismissed in 2020.[10][11]

In February 2021, another investigation started against her, Piero Fassino, Sergio Chiamparino, Alberto Cirio, and others. They must respond for not having taken sufficient measures to combat smog pollution that since 2015 has led the Turin air to be repeatedly the worst in Italy.[12]

Personal life

Appendino has been married since 2010 to the Turinese entrepreneur Marco Lavatelli, with whom she has one daughter, Sara, born on 19 January 2016 at the Mauritian Hospital of Turin, and one son, Andrea, born on 29 October 2021 at the Sant'Anna Hospital in Turin.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Elezioni comunali del 19 giugno 2016 - ballottaggio - Comune di TORINO" (in Italian). Ministry of Interior. 20 June 2016. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Chiara Appendino è sindaco: svolta storica per Torino. In due settimane è cresciuta di 80 mila voti". La Stampa (in Italian). 20 June 2016.
  3. ^ Lorenzetti, Simona (17 October 2017). "Falso ideologico in atto pubblico, indagati la sindaca Appendino e l'assessore Rolando". La Stampa.
  4. ^ "Turin mayor Appendino gets 6 months in Ream case". ANSA.it. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  5. ^ ""Torino, Appendino assolta nell'appello del processo Ream: ribaltata la sentenza di primo grado"". 16 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Per la notte di piazza San Carlo a Torino indagati la sindaca Appendino e il questore Sanna". La Stampa. 6 November 2017.
  7. ^ Jones, Sam (4 June 2017). "More than 1,500 Juventus fans in Turin injured after stampede". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Torino, muore la donna rimasta tetraplegica travolta dalla folla in piazza San Carlo. La figlia: "E' stata dura"". La Repubblica. 25 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Piazza San Carlo, Appendino condannata a un anno e mezzo: "Dolore e amarezza, pago per gesto folle di altri"". La Repubblica. 27 January 2021.
  10. ^ Giustetti, Ottavia; Ricca, Jacopo (15 June 2019). "Appendino indagata: consulenza fantasma all'ex portavoce Pasquaretta" [Appendino Investigated: false advice from the ex-spokesman Pasquaretta]. La Repubblica.
  11. ^ Fatto, Quotidiano. "Salone del libro, archiviata l'indagine su Chiara Appendino per concorso in peculato". Il Fatto Quotidiano.
  12. ^ ""Smog, 900 vittime all'anno a Torino": Indagati Appendino, Chiamparino, Cirio e Fassino. Salvini: "Solidarietà"". 19 February 2021.
  13. ^ De Ciero, Simona (31 October 2021). "Benvenuto Andrea, è nato il figlio di Chiara Appendino". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 1 November 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Turin
2016–2021 		Succeeded by