Romano Prodi Former President of the European Commission Date of Birth: 09.08.1939 Country: Italy

1. Early Life and Education
2. Academic Career
3. Business and Government Experience
4. Political Career
5. Presidency of the European Commission
6. Later Life

Early Life and Education

Romano Prodi was born on August 9, 1939, in Scandiano, Emilia Romagna, Italy, into a large Catholic family with seven children. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of Milan in 1961 and went on to study economics in Milan, Bologna, the London School of Economics, and various universities in the United States.

Academic Career

From 1963 to 1971, Prodi taught political economy at the University of Bologna. He was a researcher at the Lombard Institute of Economic and Social Studies (ILSES) from 1963 to 1964. In 1968, he conducted research at the Stanford Research Institute. From 1971 to 1999, Prodi served as professor of industrial organization and industrial policy at the University of Bologna. He was also a visiting professor at Harvard University in 1974.

Business and Government Experience

Prodi was president of the Italian publishing house IL Mulino from 1974 to 1978 and helped establish the consulting and research company Nomisma in 1981. He served as Italy's Minister of Industry from 1978 to 1979.

Prodi was the executive director and chairman of IRI Group (Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale) from 1982 to 1989 and again from 1993 to 1995. He faced criminal charges in 1993 related to alleged abuses in the privatization of the food company Cirio Bertolli, but the case was eventually closed for lack of evidence in 1997.

Political Career

Prodi was elected to parliament in 1995 and led the center-left coalition Olivo. He served as Prime Minister of Italy from May 1996 to October 1998.

Presidency of the European Commission

In May 1999, Prodi was elected president of the European Commission by a convincing margin. He replaced Jacques Santer, who had resigned along with the entire 20-member European Commission on March 15, 1999, after they were censured by the European Parliament over corruption investigations.

Later Life

Prodi has served on the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has published numerous scholarly works on European industrial policy, energy, and the functioning of different economic systems. He is married to Flavia Prodi Franzoni and has two sons, Giorgio and Antonio.