Elena Bonetti

Elena Bonetti (born 12 April 1974) is an Italian politician and mathematician who served as Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities between 2019 and 2022.

Elena Bonetti
Elena Bonetti in 2021
Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities
In office 13 February 2021 – 22 October 2022
Prime Minister	Mario Draghi
Preceded by	Giuseppe Conte (Acting)
Succeeded by	Eugenia Roccella
In office 5 September 2019 – 14 January 2021
Prime Minister	Giuseppe Conte
Preceded by	Alessandra Locatelli
Succeeded by	Giuseppe Conte (Acting)
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 October 2022
Constituency	Veneto 2
Personal details
Born	(1974-04-17) 17 April 1974 (age 51) Asola, Italy
Party	Action (since 2024)
Other political affiliations	PD (2017–2019) IV (2019–2023) PER (2023–2024)
Spouse	Davide Boldrini
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Milan
Occupation	Professor

Biography

Elena Bonetti was born on 12 April 1974 in Asola, Lombardy.^[1] She graduated from the University of Pavia in 1997, and in 2002 she obtained her PhD at the University of Milan, where she has served as Associate Professor of Mathematical Analysis.^[2][3] She studied partial differential equations and predictive modelling.^[4]

She has had some involvement in scouting and has served as a scout leader of Associazione Guide e Scouts Cattolici Italiani.^[5] In 2014, she signed an appeal, together with presbyter Andrea Gallo, to ask the Italian state to recognize same-sex marriage.^[6]

She entered politics as a candidate in the 2017 PD leadership election. Spotted by the then Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi, she was named the national manager for youth and training.^[7]

In 2018, she was a candidate for Italy's Chamber of Deputies, listed third on the PD's Lombardy list without being elected.^[8] On 5 September 2019, Bonetti was appointed the Italian Minister for Family and Equal Opportunities in the Conte II Cabinet.^[6] In September 2023 Bonetti left Italia Viva rejecting Matteo Renzi's platform on centrism, preparing to make a ticket with Carlo Calenda.^[9] On 7 October 2023 she announced that she was founding Populars Europeanists Reformers, which was meant to collaborate with Calenda's party during elections.^[10] In the Chamber of Deputies she then became Vice-President of the party, with Matteo Richetti at its head.^[11]