Augusto Sorriso is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and American politician and entrepreneur. He has served as the mayor of Licata

Licata

Licata is a city and comune located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River , about midway between Agrigento and Gela...

, Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, and has been a candidate for the Italian Senate

Italian Senate

The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...

 on two occasions as a supporter of Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...

's political coalition.

Early life, education, and political career in Italy

Sorriso was born in Licata. He took a political science degree at the University of Florence

University of Florence

The University of Florence is a higher study institute in Florence, central Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it consists of 12 faculties...

 and later returned to the city of his birth, where he worked in his family's construction business. He was a successful municipal politician with the Christian Democratic party, holding the city's mayoralty and other positions.

He ran for a seat in the Italian Chamber of Deputies

Italian Chamber of Deputies

The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...

 in the 1994 general election

Italian general election, 1994

An early national general election was held in Italy on March 27, 1994 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right alliance won handily the election for the Chamber and only narrowly lost that for the Senate....

 as a candidate of the Solidarieta' Occupazione Sviluppo party and finished fourth in Licata's single-member division.

Later career in America

Sorriso moved to New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 with his family in 1994 and started a successful franchise of salad

Salad

Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...

 restaurants. He has been active in the Italian community, serving with the Confederation of Sicilians in North America and as an executive member of the General Council of Italians Abroad.

He ran for the Italian Senate as a Forza Italia

Forza Italia

Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....

 candidate in the 2006 general election

2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division

The 2006 Italian general election was the first in the country's history in which Italian and dual citizens living outside the country could vote by postal ballot in international electoral districts...

, the first in which Italian citizens outside the country were allowed to vote in international divisions. His party list was defeated by Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...

's coalition, The Union

The Union (political coalition)

The Union was an centre-left coalition of political parties in Italy. It was led by Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy from April 2006 to April 2008, and former President of the European Commission.-Parties:...

.

Sorriso later ran for Berlusconi's People of Freedom coalition in the 2008 election

2008 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division

The 2008 Italian general election was the second in which Italian and dual citizens living outside the country could vote by postal ballot in international electoral districts...

. The list won a narrow victory, but Sorriso was outpolled by his running-mate Basilio Giordano

Basilio Giordano

Basilio Giordano is an Italian and Canadian politician and journalist. He was a councillor in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Leonard from 1982 to 1990 and has served in the Italian Senate since 2008, representing Italian voters in North and Central America as a member of Silvio Berlusconi's People...

for the seat.

Electoral record (partial)