Elly Schlein

Elena Ethel "Elly" Schlein (; born 4 May 1985) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the secretary of the Democratic Party (PD) since 12 March 2023. She is a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies and was previously the vice president of Emilia-Romagna and a member of the European Parliament. On 26 February 2023, she was elected as the new PD secretary with 54% of the vote, becoming the first woman to lead the party.

Early life and education Elena Ethel Schlein was born on 4 May 1985 in Lugano, Switzerland. She has a sister, Susanna, who is a diplomat by profession and a brother, Benjamin, who is a mathematician. Her father, Melvin Schlein, is an American academic and political scientist of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Originally, her paternal grandfather's surname was Schleyen; after arriving at Ellis Island, he changed it to Schlein. Later in life, Schlein moved to Bologna. She graduated in law at the University of Bologna in 2011, discussing a thesis on constitutional law. Schlein holds American, Italian and Swiss citizenships.

Political career Early beginnings, 2008–2013 In 2008 and 2012, Schlein volunteered on Barack Obama's two presidential campaigns in the United States.

In April 2013, Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister of Italy and president of the Democratic Party (PD), received in support 100 votes less than expected from the centre-left coalition and withdrew from the 2013 Italian presidential election. In response, Schlein gave life to the mobilisation campaign known as #OccupyPD, which criticised those behind Prodi's loss and opposed the formation of a grand coalition government, the Letta Cabinet. In the 2013 PD leadership election on 8 December, Schlein gave her support to Giuseppe Civati, who ranked third.

Member of the European Parliament, 2014–2019

In February 2014, Schlein ran with the PD for a seat at the European Parliament in the North-Eastern constituency. In the 2014 European Parliament election in Italy, she was elected to the European Parliament. She served on the European Parliament Committee on Development. In addition to her committee assignments, she was part of the parliament's delegation to the European Union–Albania Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee. In April 2019, Schlein announced her intention not to run in the 2019 European Parliament election in Italy.

Vice-president of Emilia-Romagna, 2020–2022 In the 2020 Emilia-Romagna regional election on 26 January, Schlein ran as a candidate for member of the regional council of Emilia-Romagna as part of a left-wing electoral alliance called Emilia-Romagna Courageous Ecologist and Progressive. She was elected with over 22,000 votes, the highest vote tally for a councillor in regional history, and was subsequently appointed by Stefano Bonaccini as his vice-president. In February 2020, the PD's secretary Nicola Zingaretti offered Schlein the party presidency spot left vacant by Paolo Gentiloni. A few weeks later, following Letta's resignation as leader of the PD, Schlein announced her run for the 2023 PD leadership election. In an upset, for the first time in the party's leadership elections, Schlein overcame the second place of the closed primary, by winning the open primary on 26 February 2023, when she was successfully elected ahead of Stefano Bonaccini.

In doing so, Schlein became the PD's first female, as well as the youngest person, to be elected leader of the PD since the formation of the party in 2007. She is also the first publicly-declared LGBTQ secretary of the Italian centre-left leading party. During her rise in the party, she has been compared to American congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She succeeded Letta on 12 March 2023. On 18 April 2023, Schlein expressed her personal opinion in favour of surrogacy.

2024 European Parliament Elections In the 2024 European Parliament election in Italy, the PD received 24.1% of the votes, second to FdI.

Foreign policy Israel Schlein, who is of Jewish descent, has taken a critical position against the state of Israel, supporting the pro-Palestinian movement, as well as the two-state solution. During the 12-Day War, she strongly condemned Israel's attacks on Iran. In September 2025, Schlein gave her support to the Global Sumud Flotilla, along with other left-wing Italian leaders such as Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni, and urged the Italian government to impose sanctions against Israel. Furthermore, dissatisfied with the Italian government's positions on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Schlein urged Italian municipalities to apply sanctions and carry out boycotts against Israel and members of the Israeli government. Schlein has repeatedly called the Israeli government led by Netanyahu criminal, and continued to pressure the Italian government to recognize the state of Palestine as soon as possible.

Iran In January 2025, Schlein expressed support for Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in a remote meeting. Schlein also pledged her support for the Iranian people's struggle against the Islamic regime. Schlein condemned Israel for attacking Iran. During the 2025–2026 Iranian protests, Schlein expressed support for the Iranian protesters fighting for the abolition of Iranian theocracy.

Venezuela Schlein condemned the use of military force in Venezuela by the United States during the 2026 United States intervention in Venezuela; in particular, she expressed strong condemnation for the violation of international law. Previously, Schlein had expressed her support for the Italians detained without cause in Venezuelan prisons.

Ukraine Schlein supports Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war, including through the contribution of weapons and financial aid sent by Europe.

Personal life In February 2020, Schlein came out as bisexual. Her partner is Cagliari-born Paola Belloni. Schlein describes herself as a feminist and a progressive. In December 2022, arsonists destroyed a car used by her sister, diplomat Susanna Schlein serving in Athens, prompting Italy's incumbent prime minister Giorgia Meloni to express her "profound concern".