Roberto Castelli

Roberto Castelli (born 12 July 1946) is an Italian politician. He was the Minister of Justice in the second and third governments of Silvio Berlusconi. He has been one of the main representatives of Lega Nord.

Early life and education Castelli was born in Lecco on 12 July 1946. He holds a degree in mechanic engineering. Initially, the then Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, even though he had been pressured by Castelli to do so, refused to sign the bill. The law was passed again in spring 2005.

As a minister, Castelli refused to sign Ciampi's decision to pardon Adriano Sofri, leading to a conflict of powers in which Ciampi, as the president of the Italian Republic, tried to reassert its exclusive competence in the matter (as stated in article 87 of the Constitution of Italy), and Castelli claimed that, as justice minister, he had the right to object. He also refused to request the extradition of 22 alleged CIA agents from the United States who were implicated in the kidnapping and torture of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr. On 13 December 2012, Castelli said during the satirical talk show of Rai Radio 2 Un giorno da pecora that he would not seek re-election to the 2013 Italian general election.

Electoral history ElectionHouseConstituencyPartyVotesResult 1992 Chamber of Deputies Como–Sondrio–Varese LL 14,537 Elected 1994 Chamber of Deputies Lecco LN 49,380 Elected 1996 Senate of the Republic Lombardy – Lecco LN 58,651 Elected 2001 Senate of the Republic Lombardy – Lecco LN 75,312 Elected 2006 Senate of the Republic Lombardy LN – Elected 2008 Senate of the Republic Lombardy LN – Elected