Renato Turano
Encyclopedia
Renato Guerino Turano is an Italian
and American politician and businessman. He served in the Italian Senate
from 2006 to 2008, representing Italian citizens in North America
and Central America
.
, Calabria
, Italy
, and moved to the United States with his family at age fifteen. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago
from 1962 to 1966 and returned in 1990 for a Master of Business Administration
(MBA) degree.
Turano's family purchased a small Chicago
baking company in 1962 and eventually developed it into one of the largest artisan bread producers in North America. Turano worked for the company in his youth, and became president and chief executive officer of the Turano Baking Co. in 1982. He served as chair of the American Bakers Associations (ABA) in the 2000s and led a march of eighty bakers to Capitol Hill to lobby for sector relief during a commodity crisis affecting wheat. In 2009, he was described as one of the twenty most influential baking managers in America.
Turano has been active in the Italian-American community for several decades. He founded Chicago's Casa Italia, served on the National Italian American Foundation
(NAIF), and from 1996 to 2006 was an American consulate to the Region of Calabria, representing Calabrian Americans at annual conferences in Italy. Turano received a special achievement award from the NIAF for public service in 2007.
as a candidate of Romano Prodi
's centre-left political coalition, known as The Union
. This was the first Italian election in which citizens living overseas were allowed to vote for their own representatives, and Turano was elected to represent voters in North America
and Central America
. He credited Canadian
support for Prodi's coalition as vital to his victory. The Unione won the election, and Turano served for the next two years as a supporter of Prodi's government, helping to consolidate its narrow majority in the Senate. A political moderate, he defended the Prodi administration's centrist course in a 2006 interview, saying that the government was shifting Italy away from its recent "quasi-socialistic" history.
He was defeated in the 2008 general election
, when the governing coalition (now running as the Democratic Party) lost to Silvio Berlusconi
's People of Freedom party. Turano actually received more first preference votes than any other candidate in North and Central America, but his party list was narrowly defeated.
Turano has said that he plans to stand for the Italian Senate again in the next general election.
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 businessman. He served in 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...
from 2006 to 2008, representing Italian citizens in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
Early life and private career
Turano was born in CastroliberoCastrolibero
Castrolibero is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy.-Notes and references:...
, Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, Italy
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 moved to the United States with his family at age fifteen. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
from 1962 to 1966 and returned in 1990 for a Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
(MBA) degree.
Turano's family purchased a small Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
baking company in 1962 and eventually developed it into one of the largest artisan bread producers in North America. Turano worked for the company in his youth, and became president and chief executive officer of the Turano Baking Co. in 1982. He served as chair of the American Bakers Associations (ABA) in the 2000s and led a march of eighty bakers to Capitol Hill to lobby for sector relief during a commodity crisis affecting wheat. In 2009, he was described as one of the twenty most influential baking managers in America.
Turano has been active in the Italian-American community for several decades. He founded Chicago's Casa Italia, served on the National Italian American Foundation
National Italian American Foundation
The National Italian American Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational foundation that promotes Italian American culture and heritage...
(NAIF), and from 1996 to 2006 was an American consulate to the Region of Calabria, representing Calabrian Americans at annual conferences in Italy. Turano received a special achievement award from the NIAF for public service in 2007.
Senator
Turano was elected to the Italian Senate in the 2006 general electionItalian general election, 2006
In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
as a candidate of 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 centre-left political coalition, known as 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:...
. This was the first Italian election in which citizens living overseas were allowed to vote for their own representatives, and Turano was elected to represent voters in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. He credited Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
support for Prodi's coalition as vital to his victory. The Unione won the election, and Turano served for the next two years as a supporter of Prodi's government, helping to consolidate its narrow majority in the Senate. A political moderate, he defended the Prodi administration's centrist course in a 2006 interview, saying that the government was shifting Italy away from its recent "quasi-socialistic" history.
He was defeated in the 2008 general election
Italian general election, 2008
A snap general election was held in Italy on 13 April and 14 April 2008. The election came after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament on 6 February 2008 following the defeat of the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi in a January 2008 Senate vote, and the unsuccessful tentative...
, when the governing coalition (now running as the Democratic Party) lost to 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 People of Freedom party. Turano actually received more first preference votes than any other candidate in North and Central America, but his party list was narrowly defeated.
Turano has said that he plans to stand for the Italian Senate again in the next general election.
Electoral record
External links
- Partito Democratico page (in Italian)
- Senate biography (in Italian)