Adolfo Urso

The son of Sicilian parents, Urso was born in Padua. After studying in Acireale and Catania, he graduated in sociology at the Sapienza University of Rome. He was a journalist for the neo-fascist party, Italian Social Movement's newspaper Secolo d'Italia, deputy director of the newspaper Roma (1991–1992), editor-in-chief of L'Italia settimanale (1993–94), and director of the magazine Charta Minuta (since 1994).

Urso was elected deputy from 1994 to 2008 as member of National Alliance first and then of The People of Freedom. He served as Deputy Minister of Productive Activities with delegation to foreign trade in the second and third governments headed by Silvio Berlusconi. As Deputy Minister, he dealt with the internationalization of companies (Law 56/2005) and presented the Italy-Syria agreement on investment protection for parliamentary ratification (Law 258/2003).

In the fourth Berlusconi government, Urso was appointed Undersecretary and subsequently Deputy Minister of Economic Development. After joining Gianfranco Fini's new party, Future and Freedom, Urso, along with other representatives Andrea Ronchi, Roberto Menia, and Antonio Buonfiglio, as well as Giuseppe Maria Reina of the Movement for Autonomy, resigned on 15 November 2010 and left the government due to the refusal by Berlusconi to resign and form a new government open to the Union of the Centre, as had been requested by Fini.^[1]

On 19 April 2011, Urso founded the association FareItalia and on 9 July 2011, together with Andrea Ronchi and Giuseppe Scalia, he definitively left Future and Freedom.^[2][3] In 2015, Urso joined Brothers of Italy, a party led by Giorgia Meloni, and in 2018 was elected senator into its lists.^[4] In April 2024, Urso, as an industry minister, met with representatives of Uber to discuss the company's position in the country. This was followed by protests from a taxi driver labour union in May 2024.^[5]