Francesca Balzani

Francesca Balzani is an Italian politician and lawyer. She served as a City Councilor for the Budget of the Municipality of Genoa from 2007 to 2009 and was a Member of the European Parliament for the Democratic Party during the 7th legislature. From 2015 to 2016, she held the office of Deputy Mayor of Milan.

In 2005, she was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Cassa di Risparmio di Genova e Imperia foundation.

In 2007, she received her first public office, becoming City Councilor for the Budget of Genoa in the center-left administration of Mayor Marta Vincenzi.

On 7 June 2009, Balzani was elected to the European Parliament as a MEP for the North-West Italy constituency (covering Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, and Aosta Valley) with the Democratic Party. She obtained 45,298 votes, including 33,309 in Liguria, defeating the PD’s official candidate, President of the Cinque Terre National Park, Franco Bonanini, who received 43,171 votes (40,150 in Liguria). She ranked fourth among PD candidates in the constituency despite only a few months of campaigning. In the European Parliament, she was a member of:

• Committee on Budgets
• Special Committee on the Policy Challenges and Budgetary Resources for a Sustainable European Union post 2013
• Delegation to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

She also served as a substitute member of:

• Committee on International Trade
• Committee on Budgetary Control
• Committee on Transport and Tourism
• Delegation for relations with India^[1]

In 2012, she became the second woman in EU history to be appointed General Rapporteur for the European Union budget for 2012.

On 18 March 2013, she joined the City Council of Milan as Councilor for Budget, Heritage, and Taxes,^[2] following a cabinet reshuffle in the center-left administration led by Mayor Giuliano Pisapia. Balzani replaced Bruno Tabacci, who resigned to run as top candidate for the Democratic Centre in the February 2013 legislative elections.

On 17 July 2015, after Ada De Cesaris resigned from the City Council, Balzani also assumed the role of Deputy Mayor of Milan.^[3]

On 9 January 2016, she announced her candidacy in the Democratic Party primaries for the mayoral election of Milan. Her opponents were Giuseppe Sala, Commissioner of Expo 2015 and CEO of Expo 2015 SpA; City Councilor for social policies Pierfrancesco Majorino; and Director General of UISP Milan Antonio Iannetta.

On 28 January 2016, Balzani received open endorsement from outgoing Mayor Giuliano Pisapia, as well as from her two opponents in the 2010 PD primaries, Stefano Boeri and Valerio Onida.^[4]

The PD primaries took place on 7 February 2016 with 60,634 voters. Balzani finished second with 20,516 votes (34%), behind Giuseppe Sala (25,600 votes, 42%), and ahead of Pierfrancesco Majorino (13,916 votes, 23%) and Antonio Iannetta (443 votes, 1%). She pledged support to Sala, expressing regret for not forming a joint campaign with Majorino, which likely would have ensured victory.

In June 2017, Balzani joined the Board of Directors of Banca Carige representing majority shareholder Vittorio Malacalza.^[5] She resigned in July 2018, citing objections to the likely sale of Carige’s stake in Autofiori. She returned to the board on 20 September 2018 after its renewal.

A pupil of Victor Uckmar, an internationally renowned jurist, Balzani worked with him as a lawyer until 2007, focusing on local authorities and the non-profit sector.^[6]

She taught in postgraduate courses, including a Master’s in Tax Law at Bocconi University in Milan.^[6]

• Official website for Balzani for the 2016 Milan primaries Archived 30 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine