Italy's President Mattarella marks record 10 years in office

Mattarella is Italy's longest-serving head of state.

Sergio Mattarella marks a record 10 years as Italian president on Friday, after being elected Italy's 12th head of state in a parliamentary vote on 31 January 2015. The Sicilian anti-mafia judge, then aged 73, was sworn in for a seven-year term as president on 3 February, succeeding 89-year-old Giorgio Napolitano who had resigned two weeks earlier. Palermo-born Mattarella had been endorsed by Italy's then prime minister Matteo Renzi of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) however he was opposed by Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia party. Mattarella was elected on the fourth ballot with an absolute majority after securing 665 votes of the 1,009 electors from both houses of parliament and regional representatives. First term In an early indication of what would be a key tenet of his long presidency, immediately after his election Mattarella visited the Fosse Ardeatine to pay homage to the 335 civilians massacred there in 1944 by the occupying Nazi forces. In 2018 he decided to nominate Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre a senator for life. During Mattarella's first term in office he collaborated with four prime ministers, three of whom he appointed. After Paolo Gentiloni (2016-2018), it was the turn of Giuseppe Conte (2018-2021) and then Mario Draghi (2021-2022).  On completion of his seven years in office, Mattarella was re-elected in January 2022 amid a failure by parties to find another mutually agreeable candidate to serve as head of state. The 82-year-old Mattarella agreed to serve again after then Italian premier Mario Draghi and party leaders pleaded with him to remain in office "for the good and stability of the country." Prior to his re-election, Mattarella made it clear that he wanted to retire and had signed a lease for an apartment in Rome which he had planned to move into after vacating the presidential residence at the Quirinal Palace. "I had other plans but I am here if needed," Mattarella was reported as saying at the time, adding: "I will do my best." The current government of prime minister Giorgia Meloni was sworn in two years ago during Mattarella's second term in office. Political background In 1964 Mattarella obtained a law degree from La Sapienza University of Rome and went on to teach parliamentary law at the University of Palermo. On 6 January 1980 his older brother Piersanti Mattarella, president of Sicily, was killed by the Sicilian Mafia in Palermo. Mattarella cradled his dying brother in arms, in an iconic image immortalised by photographer Letizia Battaglia. The atrocity prompted Mattarella to leave behind his academic career and to enter politics. A Catholic leftist politician, Mattarella went on to serve in various government minister roles from 1987 until 2001, including as deputy prime minister from 1998 to 1999. He retired from politics in 2008 and served as a judge of Italy's constitutional court from 2011 to 2015, the year he became president. Storms Known for his quiet style, Mattarella has presided with a firm hand, upholding Italy's constitution amid the various political crises over the last decade. During his time in office, Mattarella has weathered numerous storms but always managed to steer a path through choppy waters. In 2008 he faced impeachment calls from Luigi Di Maio, then leader of the populist Movimento 5 Stelle, after the president vetoed a choice for finance minister. (Di Maio subsequently apologised). In 2015 the leader of the right-wing Lega, Matteo Salvini (currently deputy premier) published a photograph of himself at the European parliament in Strasbourg wearing a t-shirt with an image of Russian president Vladimir Putin, with the caption: "I'd give up two Mattarellas for half a Putin!".

• The Life of Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s 12th President

In addition to dealing with various political crises, one of the biggest challenges in Mattarella's time as president was the covid pandemic during which he became a reassuring presence to Italians. "We are living through a sad page in our history. We have seen images that will be impossible to forget", Mattarella said in a televised address to the nation during the first lockdown in March 2020, paying tribute to the healthcare workers on the frontline. The president’s office accidentally released a rehearsal of the speech, during which Mattarella is informed that he has a tuft of hair sticking up. The president smoothes his hair down and says with a smile: “Eh Giovanni, I can’t go to the barbers either.” The video clip instantly went viral, endearing the president to Italians during a difficult time. Speaking out Although reserved in manner, Mattarella has not been afraid to speak out when needed, including on the international stage. In 2020, during the height of the covid pandemic, he reprimanded then UK prime minister Boris Johnson who had suggested that Brits were more "freedom-loving" than Italians. Mattarella told La Repubblica newspaper: “Italians also love freedom but we also care about seriousness.” More recently, last November, Mattarella rebuked tech billionaire Elon Musk for criticising Italian judges after a Rome court blocked the government's controversial migrant scheme in Albania. In a post on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk slammed the court ruling, writing: "These judges need to go", following it up with: "This is unacceptable. Do the people of Italy live in a democracy or does an unelected autocracy make the decisions?" Although deputy premier Salvini welcomed Musk's comment, writing: "Elon Musk is right", Mattarella was having none of it. In 1966, Mattarella married Marisa Chiazzese with whom he had three children: Laura, Francesco, and Bernardo. Marisa died in 2012, three years before Mattarella became president.  Mattarella's daughter Laura, a lawyer, accompanies her father at official functions in the role of Italy's first lady. A keen sports fan, Mattarella regularly hosts Italian sporting champions at the Quirinale, celebrating their success and emphasising the positive role of sport in society. Making history In October 2023 Mattarella became Italy's longest-serving president, surpassing the 3,166-day record held by his predecessor Napolitano. Now aged 83, Mattarella is also Italy's only living president, following the death of Napolitano in 2023. Photo credit: Alessia Pierdomenico / Shutterstock.com.