Pier Luigi Bersani

Pier Luigi Bersani was born in Bettola, near Piacenza in 1951.  He is a former member of the European Parliament, and former head of the Democratici di Sinistra (DS).  After receiving his classical high school degree in Piacenza, he earned a degree in philosophy from the University of Bologna.  He began his political career in the PDS (Democratic Party of the Left, formerly the Communist Party) in the mountain borough of Piacenza, later moving to the Emilia-Romagna region.

In 1990, he was elected to the Regional Council of Emilia-Romagna.  In 1992, he was made Secretary of the PDS for the region Emilia-Romagna.  From 1993 to 1996, Bersani was President of the Giunta Regionale dell'Emilia-Romagna (regional government).

From 1996 to 1999, Bersani served as Minister of Industry, Trades, and Crafts in the Prodi (1996-1998) and D’Alema (1998-1999) governments.  He signed the energy law that liberalized Italy’s energy sector and forced Enel, Italy’s state electricity holding company, to sell electricity-generating subsidiaries.  Bersani pushed for the liberalization of the trade sector, opening markets to large retailers and supermarkets.

From 1999 to 2001, Bersani was Minister of Transport and Navigation in the D'Alema and Amato governments.  In 2001, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies with Democratici di Sinistra - L'Ulivo (Democrats of the Left - Olive Tree Alliance).  In June 2004, he resigned from the Chamber of Deputies after being elected to the European Parliament with Uniti nell'Ulivo. Until 2005, Bersani was head of the DS Economic Affairs Department.

In the European Parliament, Bersani was member of the Socialist Group and an active member of various EU committees and delegations.

In April 2006, Bersani was re-elected to the Chamber of Deputies with the center left coalition L’Ulivo and resigned from the European Parliament.

In 2001, Bersani and Vincenzo Visco (currently Deputy-minister of Economy and Finance) founded "Nuova Economia Nuova Società" (NENS), an economic think tank.  Bersani is considered open-minded, able to talk with both unions and industrialists (Confindustria), and a strong supporter of “concertazione” (consensus formation), a process very popular in the nineties when social partners become active participants with government in forming economic and social policy.

Bersani is a strong supporter of free trade and is aware that excessive regulations are stifling Italy's economic growth and entrepreneurial spirit.  As Minister of Economic Development, he issued a liberalization decree in June reducing the regulations protecting professions as diverse as lawyers, bakers, and taxi drivers.

On energy policy, Bersani rejected protectionist retaliation and supports the construction of regassification plants to increase the diversity of Italy's energy sources.

Bersani is married with two daughters.

Bersani has been awarded France’s Legion d'Honneur.