President of the Sicily Region.

Renato Schifani, the former President of the Senate of the Republic, was born on May 11, 1950, in Palermo. Married to Mrs. Franca, he is the father of two children, Roberto and Andrea (both lawyers). He graduated in Law from the University of Palermo and became a qualified lawyer in 1976.   

Schifani joined Forza Italia in February 1995 and became the regional head of the party’s departments in Sicily. He was elected to the Senate of the Republic in the 1996 political elections in the Palermo constituency of Altofonte – Corleone, representing the center-right coalition. In his first term, he was the leader of Forza Italia in the Constitutional Affairs Committee at Palazzo Madama and was a member of the Joint Committee for Reforms. 

 He was re-elected in 2001 and during the 14th Legislature, he was elected as the leader of his party at Palazzo Madama. Schifani supported the stabilization of Article 41 bis, which made the so-called “hard prison” definitive for offenses related to mafia-style criminal association. He also supported the provision related to the “equivalent seizure” aimed at attacking the assets of the mafia. 

 In the 2006 political elections, Schifani was re-elected as a senator for Forza Italia in the Sicily constituency, and during the 15th Legislature, he served as a member of the Territory and Environment Committee. He was reconfirmed as the leader of Forza Italia during the 15th Legislature. 

 In the 2008 political elections, he was re-elected in Sicily as a member of The People of Freedom party. On April 29, 2008, during the first session of the 16th Legislature, he was elected President of the Senate of the Republic, receiving 178 votes (162 required by the quorum). He held the second-highest position in the state until March 2013. 

 In the 2013 elections, Schifani was candidate and re-elected to the Senate of the Republic. On March 19, 2013, he was unanimously appointed as the leader of The People of Freedom party in the Senate. On November 15, 2013, he resigned as the leader of The People of Freedom party in the Senate and joined the New Center-Right party. On December 5, 2013, he became the President of the Promoter Committee and later the leader of the Popular Area (Ncd-Udc) in the Senate. 

 On July 19, 2016, Schifani resigned as the leader of the Popular Area, and on August 4 of the same year, he returned to Forza Italia. In the 2018 political elections, running as a candidate for Forza Italia, he was re-elected as a senator and assigned as a full member to the Constitutional Affairs Committee. During the legislature, he was also a member of the Rai Oversight Committee and the Joint Committee on the Banking System. He was also a full member of the Senate’s Rules Committee. 

 On November 13, 2020, he was appointed as Silvio Berlusconi’s political advisor. 

 In mid-August last year, he was chosen by the center-right coalition as the candidate for the President of the Sicilian Region, supported by Forza Italia, Fratelli d’Italia, Lega, Popolari e Autonomisti, and Nuova Democrazia Cristiana. 

 On October 13, 2022, he was appointed as the President of the Sicilian Region at the Appellate Court of the Palermo Court, after winning the elections held on September 25.