Stefano Bonaccini

In March 2020, Italy was severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic and Emilia-Romagna became the second most affected region after Lombardy. On 4 March, when Emilia-Romagna's regional minister of health, Raffaele Donini, was declared positive for COVID-19, Governor Bonaccini appointed Sergio Venturi as Extraordinary Commissioner for the emergency. Venturi served as regional minister oh health from 2014 to 2020.

In 2017 and 2018, Bonaccini's government implemented a policy aimed to increase the political and fiscal autonomy of Emilia-Romagna. Bonaccini stated: "We have activated the path towards a greater regional autonomy to better face the challenges of change. We want an autonomy that respects the Constitution, national unity and solidarity between territories, which are principles that are absolutely inviolable for us, but capable of improving relations between central administration and local autonomies. Above all, we need an autonomy to strengthen investment planning, to streamline and simplify procedures, to make our services for citizens and businesses even more efficient and effective."

On 20 July 2015, Bonaccini signed so-called the "Pact for Labour", a deal between regional government, trade unions and entrepreneurs, to relaunch employment in the region. The Pact allocated, in almost five years, more than 22 billion euros.

On 17 December 2015, Bonaccini was elected President of the Conference of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, replacing Piedmontese President Sergio Chiamparino, who resigned a few weeks before. On 12 December 2016, Bonaccini was elected President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. While on 12 December 2016, he was elected president of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the largest organisation of local and regional governments in Europe.

During the campaign, Bonaccini claimed the results achieved by his administration (including the "Pact for Labour" of 2015), and proposed four priority points summed up into the slogan "A step forward": to create free kindergartens for all children in the region, to break down the waiting lists for health interventions and access times to first aid, to carry out preventive maintenance and safety of the regional territory, and to reduce the phenomenon of NEET.

On 23 November 2014, he won the regional election in Emilia-Romagna with 49.1% of the votes, becoming the 9th President of the region.

Since 2014, the regional government cut the waiting lists for patients and exams in health and opened many "health houses" for proximity medicine. Moreover Emilia-Romagna was the first region in Italy to abolish the so-called superticket and started a drastic reduction of the fees for the nests.

During his first term, Emilia-Romagna lived a period of economic prosperity. Unemployment went down from 9% in 2014, to 4.8% in 2019, while the employment rate rose to 71%, the highest in the country. The region was also the first one in Italy for GDP growth from 2014 to 2019 and the first region for export "per capita".

After the 2010 regional election, Bonaccini was elected regional councilor for the Democratic Party. During the legislature he became one of the closer advisor of incombent governor Vasco Errani. On 13 December 2013, he was appointed national coordinator for "Local Authorities" in the national secretariat of the PD, under the leadership of Matteo Renzi, who Bonaccini supported in the 2013 primary election.

Despite Emilia-Romagna having always been considered one of the "red regions" – a stronghold of left-wing parties since the end of the World War II – due to the right-wing surge in the country, the 2020 regional election was considered as the first competitive one in the history of the region. Bonaccini was confirmed the centre-left candidate at the head of a coalition including the PD and its left-wing allies of Free and Equal (LeU) and Green Europe (EV), as well as More Europe (+Eu). Bonaccini also launched a personal civic list, named "Bonaccini for President", which included, among others, members from Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva (IV), Carlo Calenda's Action and Federico Pizzarotti's Italy in Common (IiC).

In 2007, he was appointed the provincial secretary of the newly formed Democratic Party and two years later he was elected regional secretary of the PD for Emilia-Romagna.

After attending the scientific lyceum, he started his political career during the 1980s, as a member of the peace movements. Bonaccini later became a member of the Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), heir of the Italian Communist Party. In 1990, he was appointed municipal assessor in the town of Campogalianno, where he lived. In 1993 he became provincial secretary of the Left Youth (SG), the PDS youth-wing. Two years later, in 1995 he was elected secretary of the PDS for Modena. From 1999 to 2006, he served as Modena's municipal assessor for public works, cultural heritage and historical city center.

Stefano Bonaccini (born 1 January 1967) is an Italian politician and member of the Democratic Party. He has been serving as the president of Emilia-Romagna since 24 November 2014.

Stefano Bonaccini was born in Campogalliano, near Modena, on 1 January 1967, in a lower middle-class family. His father was a truck driver, while his mother worked in a factory.