Giancarlo Galan

Born in Padua,^[1] Galan was an activist of the Italian Liberal Party in the 1970s and the 1980s.^[2][3][4] He was not fully active in politics until he joined Forza Italia since its foundation in 1994. In the same year, he was elected to Italy's Chamber of Deputies.

In 1995, Galan ran successfully for president of Veneto. He was re-elected in 2000 and 2005. He did not stand for re-election in 2010, when the centre-right coalition supported Luca Zaia of Liga Veneta–Lega Nord for president. He was Minister of Agriculture in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet from 2010 to 2011, filling the place vacated by Zaia. He later served as Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities for a few months in 2011. In 2013, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and became chairman of the Culture Committee.

In June 2014, a tribunal in Venice asked the Italian Parliament for an authorization to proceed against Galan for bribery, extortion, and money laundering in the framework of the inquiry about the MOSE Project.^[5] The Parliament approved the request; Galan was led to a prison in Milan,^[6] and later granted house arrest in his villa near Padua.^[7]

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