Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio



Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio (March 13, 1959), is an Italian politician. He was appointed on May 17, 2006, as Minister of Environment in the cabinet of Romano Prodi.

Born in Salerno, member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies since 1992, Pecoraro Scanio is the leader and current president of the Italian Green Party, one of the parties making up the ruling coalition in the new Italian government. He also served as Minister for Agriculture from 2000 to 2001 in the second government of Massimo D'Alema.

He was also one of the candidates as leader of L'Unione for the primary election held on 16 October 2005, being fifth-placed with 2.2% of national votes.

Pecoraro Scanio is openly bisexual, as he made his coming out in 2000, becoming the first Italian minister ever to do it; for that reason he was often insulted by a number of far right and populist movements. In June 2005, at a festival organized by the Northern League, a banner inciting to "rape Pecoraro" was exposed, causing immediate outcry.

He has a younger brother, Marco Pecoraro Scanio, who is a former Serie A footballer and a senator for the Green Party too, elected in the 2006 election.