Francesco Lollobrigida

Francesco Lollobrigida (born 21 March 1972) is an Italian politician who has been the minister of Agriculture since 22 October 2022. A leading member of the national-conservative Brothers of Italy, Lollobrigida is widely considered one of the closest allies of Giorgia Meloni.

Early life, family, and education Lollobrigida was born in Tivoli, Lazio on 21 March 1972. He is a distant cousin of actress Gina Lollobrigida (whose grandfather Luigi was a brother of his great-gradfather Nazzareno) and Olympic speed skating gold medalist Francesca Lollobrigida. He graduated in law from the Niccolò Cusano telematic university. They have two daughters.

Career During the 1990s, Lollobrigida started his involvement in politics within the Youth Front (FdG), the youth-wing of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI). Until 1995, Lollobrigida served as provincial secretary of FdG for Rome. From 1997 to 1999, he served as leader of Student Action, a far-right student movement connected to National Alliance (AN), the MSI's heir. During this period, he also held various political positions at the provincial level, including municipal councilor in Subiaco (1996–2000), provincial councilor in Rome (1998–2003) and councilor for sport, culture and tourism in the municipality of Ardea (2005–2006).

Since 2012, Lollobrigida is a member of the Brothers of Italy (FdI) and was elected as a deputy for Lazio region representing the party in the 2018 general election. From June 2018 he served as its parliamentary group leader In the 2022 general elections he also won a seat in the Parliament. He was appointed minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests on 22 October 2022 in the government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Controversy On 19 April 2023 Lollobrigida attracted criticism for his remarks to a trade union conference suggesting that "Italians are having fewer children, so we're replacing them with someone else. [We say] yes to helping births, no to ethnic replacement. That's not the way forward." Opposition politicians set his remarks in the wider context of the racist Great Replacement theory.

Electoral history Election House Constituency Party Votes Result 2018 Chamber of Deputies Lazio 2 FdI – 2022 Chamber of Deputies Lazio 2 FdI –