| Roberto Vannacci | |||||||||||||||
| Honorific-Suffix: | MEP | ||||||||||||||
| Office2: | Member of the European Parliament | ||||||||||||||
| Term Start2: | 16 July 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| Constituency2: | North-West Italy | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 20 November 1968 | ||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | La Spezia, Italy | ||||||||||||||
| Party: | League | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse: | Camelia Mihailescu | ||||||||||||||
| Children: | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Education: | Modena Military Academy | ||||||||||||||
| Alma Mater: | University of Turin University of Trieste University of Bucharest | ||||||||||||||
| Module: |
| ||||||||||||||
Roberto Vannacci (born 20 November 1968) is an Italian Army former officer and far-right politician.[1] Since July 2024, he has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament for the League.
Vannacci was born in La Spezia, Liguria, in 1968. He attended the Military Academy of Modena and the Application School of Turin and obtained three master's degrees: in strategic sciences, achieved at the University of Turin, in international and diplomatic sciences at the University of Trieste and in military sciences at the University of Bucharest.
During his military career, Vannacci held the roles of commander of the 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment "Col Moschin", of the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore", of the Italian troops in the Iraqi civil war as well as of "Task Force 45" during the War in Afghanistan. He also commanded Italian forces deployed in the Balkans, Rwanda, Somalia and Libya, and was awarded the US Legion of Merit in 2018 for his efforts to combat the Islamic State group.[2]
Vannacci became a well-known and discussed figure following the publication, in August 2023, of his book Il mondo al contrario (The world upside down) which, due to the discriminatory statements expressed on feminism, immigrants, homosexuals, environmentalism, and Jewish people [3] brought him to the center of considerable media attention, and under accusations of misogyny, homophobia and antisemitism. The book rose to first place among the best sellers in Italy in the week from 14 to 20 August.[4] Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said that the publication had not been cleared by Vannacci's superiors and that Vannacci "expressed opinions that discredit the Army, the Ministry of Defence and the Constitution".[2]
On 18 August 2023, a summary investigation was opened against General Vannacci for the contents of his book by the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, Army Corps General Pietro Serino.
Given the results of this investigation, on 4 November the general was informed of the opening of a formal investigation against him to ascertain any disciplinary infractions.[5] This investigation ended in February 2024 with suspension from service for 11 months with half the salary.[6] According to the conclusions of the internal proceedings, in fact, the publication of the book would have determined an "injury to the principle of neutrality/third party of the Armed Force [...] compromising the prestige and reputation of the Administration to which it belongs and generating possible disruptive and divisive emulative effects in the 'scope of the military team".[7]
In April 2024, he accepted the candidacy to the European Parliament for the far right and right-wing populist party the League.[8] He was elected to the European Parliament and was the second most voted candidate in Italy.[9] In July 2024, he was elected vice president of the EP group Patriots for Europe,[10] despite his nominee was opposed by the other parties due to his extreme positions.[11]
| width=12% | Election | width=25% | House | width=25% | Constituency | width=1% colspan="2" | Party | width=12% | Votes | width=12% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | European Parliament | North-West Italy | Lega | 186,966 |
Italy