President

Pier Ferdinando Casini is President of UDC, the Union of the Centre coalition of parties in Italy. In 2012 Mr Casini was re-elected as President of the CDI/Centrist Democratic International, that he has been leading since 2004. He has been Member of the Italian Parliament since 1983 and was re-elected after the general elections of 1987 and 1992. He was then Member of the National Direction, in charge of Training, Culture and Propaganda and, eventually, during the last years of the Party’s existence, leader of its moderate faction. Other previous roles include: President of the Interparliamentary Union from 2005 to 2008 (he is currently their Honorary President); President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2001 to 2006; and Member of the European Parliament from 1996 to 1999 and from 1999 to 2001 with the European People’s Party. In 1994 he established the Christian Democratic Centre, where he has served as Political Secretary, then President. The Christian Democratic Centre was then transformed into the Union of the Centre. For this new party, he was elected as Member of Parliament again in 1994, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2008. In 1978 Mr Casini earned a Law degree at Bologna University, where he was the student representative at the university's Law Faculty Council. He later joined the Christian Democratic Party and become the Party’s National Delegate for the Youth.