Antonio Decaro

Italian politician and mayor

Antonio Decaro

Member of the European Parliament

Incumbent

Assumed office
16 July 2024
Constituency| Southern Italy
Mayor of Bari
In office
23 June 2014 – 9 July 2024
Preceded by| Michele Emiliano
Succeeded by| Vito Leccese
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
14 March 2013 – 9 July 2014
Constituency| Apulia
Personal details
Born|  (1970-07-17) 17 July 1970 (age 54)
Bari, Italy
Political party| Democratic Party
Alma mater| Polytechnic University of Bari
Occupation| Engineer, politician

Antonio Decaro (born 17 July 1970) is an Italian politician and former Mayor of Bari.

## Biography

[edit]

Decaro graduated in engineering from the Polytechnic University of Bari. After a brief work experience as deputy head of the department of the Apulian Aqueduct, he was employed by ANAS in 2000.[1]

In 2004 he was hired by mayor of Bari Michele Emiliano as Councilor for mobility and traffic, distinguishing himself for his environmentalism: Decaro has contributed to the implementation of initiatives and infrastructures that have marked the change in the mobility and traffic policies in Bari. His goal was to empty the city center of cars and redefine the spaces and lifestyle of citizens and commuters.[1]

In 2010 he was elected regional councilor in Apulia as a member of the Democratic Party and was group leader of the party in the regional assembly from 2010 to 2013, when he was elected Deputy after the 2013 elections.

### Mayor of Bari

[edit]

In January 2014, he announced on his Facebook page his intention to run for mayor of Bari. In June, he is elected mayor, with the support of his predecessor Michele Emiliano, the Democratic Party, Left Ecology Freedom, Italy of Values and the Democratic Centre.[2]

On 12 October 2016, Decaro was elected President of the National Association of Italian Comunes, the association of all the mayors of the country.[3]

On 26 May 2019, Decaro ran for re-election as mayor of Bari. He won handily with nearly two-thirds of the vote (66.27%) in the first round, thus avoiding a runoff.[4]

In 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged Northern Italy, even though he is mayor of a Southern city, Decaro became a social media star and instant sensation overnight due to his strong-mannered rebukes of citizens who would not respect the stay-at-home rule. Decaro even had Facebook and Instagram fan pages read by women who immediately claimed to be attracted to him because of his online rants appealing to his constituents to comply with the rule became popular.

### Member of the European Parliament

[edit]

In 2024, with his second term as mayor coming to an end, Decaro ran for the European Parliament as number two candidate on the Democratic Party list in the Southern Italy constituency.[5][6] He received 499 661 preference votes in the constituency, only second after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (555 720) and was thus elected.[7] In his hometown of Bari, he received 59 339 preference votes - 40% of all votes cast in the city, and besting Meloni by almost 46 000 votes.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Biography of Antonio Decaro". anci.it. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
2. ^ "Decaro è il nuovo sindaco di Bari, il centrosinistra vola ma crolla l'affluenza". La Repubblica. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
3. ^ "Anci, ecco Decaro, il sindaco renziano nuovo numero uno dei comuni italiani". La Repubblica. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
4. ^ "Eligendo Archivio - Ministero dell'Interno DAIT". Archived from the original on 2021-11-10.
5. ^ "Tutti i candidati italiani alle elezioni europee del 2024" (in Italian). 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
6. ^ "Le liste con i candidati dei principali partiti italiani per le elezioni europee". Il Post (in Italian). 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
7. ^ "Eligendo: Europee [Scrutini] Italia + Estero (In complesso) - Europee, amministrative e regionale (Piemonte) 8-9 giugno 2024 e ballottaggi - Ministero dell'Interno". Eligendo (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
8. ^ "Eligendo: Europee [Scrutini] Comune di BARI (Italia) - Europee, amministrative e regionale (Piemonte) 8-9 giugno 2024 e ballottaggi - Ministero dell'Interno". Eligendo (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-25.

## External links

[edit]

* Files about his parliamentary activities (in Italian): XVII legislature.

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Mayors of Metropolitan cities of Italy

Bari
Vito Leccese (PD)
Bologna
Matteo Lepore (PD)
Cagliari
Massimo Zedda (PP)
Catania
Enrico Trantino (FdI)
Florence
Sara Funaro (PD)
Genoa
Marco Bucci (centre-right)
Messina
Federico Basile (right-wing)
Milan
Giuseppe Sala (centre-left)
Naples
Gaetano Manfredi (centre-left)
Palermo
Roberto Lagalla (UdC)
Reggio Calabria
Giuseppe Falcomatà (PD)
Rome
Roberto Gualtieri (PD)
Turin
Stefano Lo Russo (PD)
Venice
Luigi Brugnaro (CI)

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Mayors of regional capitals of Italy

Ancona
Daniele Silvetti (FI)
Aosta
Gianni Nuti (centre-left)
Bari
Vito Leccese (PD)
Bologna
Matteo Lepore (PD)
Cagliari
Massimo Zedda (PP)
Campobasso
Marialuisa Forte (centre-left)
Catanzaro
Nicola Fiorita (centre-left)
Florence
Sara Funaro (PD)
Genoa
Marco Bucci (centre-right)
L'Aquila
Pierluigi Biondi (FdI)
Milan
Giuseppe Sala (centre-left)
Naples
Gaetano Manfredi (centre-left)
Palermo
Roberto Lagalla (UdC)
Perugia
Vittoria Ferdinandi (centre-left)
Potenza
Vincenzo Telesca (PD)
Rome
Roberto Gualtieri (PD)
Turin
Stefano Lo Russo (PD)
Trento
Franco Ianeselli (centre-left)
Trieste
Roberto Dipiazza (FI)
Venice
Luigi Brugnaro (CI)
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