Vincenzo Visco
Encyclopedia
Vincenzo Alfonso Visco (born 18 March 1942 in Foggia
) is an Italian
politician and economist who has served as a government minister.
He gained an MSc in Economics at the University of York
in 1969 and was awarded an honorary degree in 2004.
Visco was elected to the Parliament of Italy
in 1983 for the Sinistra Indipendente group, joining the Democratic Party of the Left
in 1991, the Democrats of the Left
in 1998 and the Democratic Party
in 2007. He served as Finance Minister for a few days in 1993 and then again from 1996 to 2000 and Treasury Minister from 2000 to 2001.
He returned to government in 2006 as Vice-Minister of Economy, a role in which he courted controversy. He was accused of using his political influence to benefit Unipol
in a bank takeover, although he was cleared of any illegal activity. He also hit the headlines in this role when he described the country's debt as "a disaster". One of his final acts in this role was to publish the tax details of every Italian citizen for 2005 in a move he described as 'an act of transparency, of democracy, similar to what happens elsewhere in the world'.
Foggia
Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
) 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...
politician and economist who has served as a government minister.
He gained an MSc in Economics at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
in 1969 and was awarded an honorary degree in 2004.
Visco was elected to the Parliament of Italy
Parliament of Italy
The Parliament of Italy is the national parliament of Italy. It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members . The Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members is the lower house. The Senate of the Republic is the upper house and has 315 members .Since 2005, a party list electoral law is being...
in 1983 for the Sinistra Indipendente group, joining the Democratic Party of the Left
Democratic Party of the Left
The Democratic Party of the Left was a post-communist, democratic socialist political party in Italy.-History:...
in 1991, the Democrats of the Left
Democrats of the Left
The Democrats of the Left was a social-democratic Italian political party and part of the Olive Tree electoral coalition, which merged with a number of centrist and leftist groups to form the Democratic Party on 14 October 2007...
in 1998 and the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
in 2007. He served as Finance Minister for a few days in 1993 and then again from 1996 to 2000 and Treasury Minister from 2000 to 2001.
He returned to government in 2006 as Vice-Minister of Economy, a role in which he courted controversy. He was accused of using his political influence to benefit Unipol
Unipol
Unipol Gruppo Finanziario S.p.A. is an Italian financial services company operating principally in the insurance sector, in which it is the country's fourth-largest firm. Based in Bologna, the company was founded in 1962 as a cooperative provider of non-life insurance...
in a bank takeover, although he was cleared of any illegal activity. He also hit the headlines in this role when he described the country's debt as "a disaster". One of his final acts in this role was to publish the tax details of every Italian citizen for 2005 in a move he described as 'an act of transparency, of democracy, similar to what happens elsewhere in the world'.