ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2022) Roberto Maroni, one of Italy's most prominent politicians, former deputy prime minister, interior minister and the leader of right-wing party Lega Nord, died on Tuesday at the age of 68 after a serious and prolonged illness, Italian media reported.
The politician passed away at his home in the Italian commune of Lozza, according to the SkyTg24 broadcaster.
Maroni was born on March 15, 1955 in the city of Varese in northern Italy. He started his political activity at the age of 16 in the Marxist-Leninist group of Varese. In 1971, Maroni joined the Proletarian Democracy party, but already in 1979, he became interested in the independence for the Italian northern region of Padania, which determined his future career. In the same year, Maroni graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Milan.
In the early 1980s, Maroni got inspired by ideas of Umberto Bossi, then leader of the Lega Lombarda � one of the founding sections of Lega Nord. In 1989, the Lega Nord was established as a federation of six regional parties, and the following year, Maroni was elected province secretary of Lega Nord in Varese. Then he also became a communal councilor of his native city.
In 1992, Maroni was elected a member of the Chamber of Deputies � the lower house of the Italian parliament � for the first time. He was a member of the Chamber of six convocations and continued his parliamentary activity until 2013. Maroni was also included in cabinets headed by then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi several times. Thus, in 1994, Maroni became the first Italian politician elected as interior minister without being a member of Italy's Christian Democracy party. He was also Italian deputy prime minister in 1994-1995. In 2001-2006, Maroni served as labor minister. In 2008-2011, he again headed the Italian Ministry of the Interior.
In 2012, following the resignation of Bossi as head of Lega Nord due to his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal, Maroni was elected political secretary of the party. He headed Lega Nord until late 2013. In 2013-2018, Maroni also served as the president of the Lombardy region. In 2018, he started significantly reducing his political activities.
