Roberto Maroni was born in Varese in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, some 55km (34 miles) north of Milan. He continues to live there with his wife and three children.
He is a former head of the legal affairs department of a US multinational.
In his spare time he plays the Hammond organ with a soul-music band, called District 51.
Education
Mr Maroni holds a law degree and is a qualified attorney.
Experience
Roberto Maroni has been a member of the Lega Lombarda (Lombard League) since its inception, and began his political career with Umberto Bossi in 1979.
A former Provincial Secretary in Varese and member of the National Council of the Lega Nord (or “Northern League”, an umbrella political movement that includes the Lega Lombarda), he was elected municipal councilor of his native city in 1990, and later appointed Assessore (head of local government department) in its first Lega-controlled government.
Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1992, he became House Chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Northern League in 1993.
The following year he joined the first Berlusconi government as Vice President of the Council of Ministers (Deputy Prime Minister) and was made Minister of the Interior.
Re-elected to Parliament in 1996 as a member of “Gruppo Lega Nord Padania” (a section of the Northern League), he was a member of the First (Constitutional Affairs) and Third (Foreign and Community Affairs) Standing Committees of the Chamber of Deputies, and sat on the Committee for the Authorization of Judicial Proceedings – a parliamentary body that decides on a case-by-case basis whether to waive MPs’ immunity from judicial investigation and prosecution.
In 2001, re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies, he was appointed Minister of Labor and Social Policy (Welfare) under the second and third Berlusconi governments.
As Minister, he entered into intense negotiations with the social partners and successfully completed a sweeping reform of employment legislation (enacted as the “Biagi Law”) to make the Italian labor market more flexible and inclusive. He also managed to see through a major reform of the pension system that included provisions for the creation of a complementary private pension scheme.
In 2006, Mr Maroni was elected Chairman of the Lega Nord Padania Parliamentary Group in the Chamber of Deputies, and became a member of the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic, as well as member of the Parliamentary Delegation to the Assembly of the Council of Europe and of the Parliamentary Delegation to the Assembly of the Western European Union.
In 2008, he was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Lega Nord Padania, joined the fourth Berlusconi government, and was again made Minister of the Interior. During his mandate, he spearheaded incisive action to combat organized crime, and notched up significant victories, especially with regard to the seizure of Mafia assets.
On July 1, 2012, he was elected Federal Secretary of a federalist political movement called “Lega Nord per l’Indipendenza della Padania” (the Northern League for the Independence of Padania).
Following the regional elections of February 24-25, 2013, he was elected President of the Region of Lombardy.
Since September 1, 2015, he has been in charge on a pro-tempore basis of the special portfolios for health, and for the family, social solidarity, voluntary organizations and equal opportunities.
Between 26 October 2015 and 27 June 2016, following the establishment of the new Welfare Department in the Region of Lombardy, he took charge of the responsibilities that fall under its remit, namely:
