Giorgia Meloni was born on 15 January 1977 in Rome, Italy. She has served as Prime Minister of Italy since October 2022, becoming the first woman to hold the office.
๐ Early Life and Family
Meloni was raised in the working-class district of Garbatella in Rome after a house fire destroyed her familyโs home. Her father abandoned the family in 1978 when she was one year old, moving to the Canary Islands and remarrying.
In 1995, her father was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to nine years in a Spanish prison. Meloni has a sister, Arianna, who was born in 1975 and was appointed head of the partyโs political secretariat in 2023.
๐ Education and Early Career
Meloni graduated from Istituto tecnico professionale di Stato Amerigo Vespucci in 1996. She worked as a nanny, waitress, and bartender at the Piper Club nightclub in Rome during her youth.
In 1992, at age 15, she joined the Youth Front, the youth wing of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a neo-fascist political party. She later became national leader of Student Action, the student movement of the National Alliance (AN).
๐๏ธ Political Rise
Meloni was elected as a councillor of the province of Rome from 1998 to 2002. In 2008, she was appointed Minister for Youth Policies in the fourth Berlusconi government, a role she held until 2011.
In 2012, she co-founded Brothers of Italy (FdI) with Ignazio La Russa and Guido Crosetto. She became president of FdI in 2014 and led the party to victory in the 2022 general election.
๐ International Recognition
In 2024, Forbes ranked Meloni as the third-most-powerful woman in the world. Time magazine listed her among the most influential people in the world, while Politico ranked her as the most powerful person in Europe in 2025.
| Year | Event | Position | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Joined Youth Front | Member | MSI |
| 2006 | Elected to Chamber of Deputies | Vice-President | AN |
| 2008 | Appointed Minister for Youth Policies | Minister | PdL |
| 2022 | Became Prime Minister | Prime Minister | FdI |