Born in Rome on August 4, 1953, he is the son of an Italian army officer and a Greek and Latin teacher. Graduated in Law at the La Sapienza University of Rome, he was an officer in the Italian Air Force. Married, with two children, he is fluent in French, English and Spanish. 

A professional journalist since 1980, he was a parliamentary reporter, conductor of the GR1 Rai, head of the Roman editorial staff of the newspaper “Il Giornale” directed by Indro Montanelli, with whom he was a close collaborator for ten years. 

He was also special envoy to Lebanon, the Soviet Union and Somalia. 

Co-founder of Forza Italia, he was regional coordinator of the party in Lazio from 1994 to 2005. In the Berlusconi I government he was spokesman for the Prime Minister. 

In 1994 he was elected to the European Parliament for the first time. This was the beginning of more than two decades of strong commitment to the European project and to the citizens of the Union. He helped draft the European Constitution as a member of the Convention on the Future of Europe, chaired by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. 

From 2001 to 2004, he was also City Councilor in the Municipality of Rome.   

Appointed European Commissioner for Transport in 2008, he helped enhance the trans-European transport networks and create a European regulatory framework to protect passengers’ rights. In 2010, he was appointed Vice-President and European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, working for reindustrialisation, “green growth”, help for SMEs, in particular with the Late Payments Directive and the Action Plans for all sectors of industry, starting with steel. Among the actions promoted to support growth and return to higher levels of employment, it has put in place specific measures aimed at facilitating the transfer of businesses, improving access to finance and giving a second chance after a business failure. 

In 2014 he was re-elected as a Member of the European Parliament and assumed the position of first Vice-President, with responsibility for security, interreligious dialogue and the House of European History. 

In the passage between the Commission and the European Parliament, with a letter to President Barroso, he communicates that he renounces the transitional allowance of 468 thousand euros to which he was entitled as a former Vice-President of the Commission. He deemed it appropriate to demonstrate sobriety and solidarity at a time of great difficulty for European citizens. 

In April 2015, the city of Gijon, in northern Spain, dedicated a street to him in recognition of the work he carried out during his tenure as Vice-President of the European Commission, having fought to avoid the closure of an industrial plant, saving 210 jobs Work.  

On 17 January 2017, he was elected President of the European Parliament. In this capacity, he organized the “Debates on the future of Europe”, which was attended by 18 heads of state and government. It has also organized 12 high-level conferences on topics such as migration, research, tourism, business, cultural heritage, digital. His mandate was characterized by a strong commitment to a common European defence, support for the real economy and the relaunch of the EU’s role on the global scene, particularly in Africa and Latin America. 

In his first speech as President of the European Parliament, he also wanted to dedicate his election to the victims of the earthquake that struck Italy in 2016. Subsequently, in 2018, he decided to donate the 30,000 euros of the Charles V prize to the municipalities of Arquata del Tronto, Norcia and Accumoli. 

The European Jewish Community has decided to dedicate a forest of 18 trees to him, a symbol of life, in Israel, as a sign of recognition of his work “to build bridges between religions as well as between the European Union and the various confessions”.  

In March 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he decided to donate his MEP allowance to the city of Fondi to which he has been linked for many years and which has been one of the cities most affected by the coronavirus. From 2019 to 2022 he held the position of President of the Commission for Constitutional Affairs and of the Conference of Commission Presidents of the European Parliament. In January 2022 he was re-elected by acclamation to the presidency of the Commission for Constitutional Affairs. He actively worked on the realization of the Conference on the future of Europe and was a protagonist in the negotiations of the Brexit agreement, fighting for the rights of European citizens residing in the United Kingdom.  

Since 2002 he has been Vice-President of the European People’s Party. He has also been Vice President of Forza Italia since July 2018 and National Coordinator since February 2021. 

For over twenty years, he has participated in the voluntary work of the “Community in Dialogue” of Trivigliano (FR), for the recovery and social reintegration of young drug addicts. Since 2018, he has also donated his pension to this reality as a former Vice-President of the European Commission. 

Since 22 October 2022 he has been Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.