1. Elena Ethel "Elly" Schlein is an Italian politician who has been the secretary of the Democratic Party since 12 March 2023.
16 Facts About Elly Schlein
1. 2.
Elly Schlein is a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies and was previously the vice-president of Emilia-Romagna and a member of the European Parliament.
3.
Elena Ethel Schlein was born on 4 May 1985 in Lugano, Switzerland.
4.
Elly Schlein's father, Melvin Schlein, is an American academic and political scientist of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.
5.
Elly Schlein's mother, Maria Paola Viviani, is a professor of comparative public law at the University of Insubria.
6.
Elly Schlein has a sister who is a diplomat by profession and a brother, Benjamin, who is a mathematician.
7.
Elly Schlein graduated in law at the University of Bologna in 2011, discussing a thesis on constitutional law.
8.
In 2008 and 2012, Elly Schlein volunteered on Barack Obama's two presidential campaigns in the United States.
9.
In February 2014, Elly Schlein ran with the PD for a seat at the European Parliament in the North-Eastern constituency.
10.
Elly Schlein served on the European Parliament Committee on Development.
11.
In May 2015, Elly Schlein announced through a post on Facebook that she was leaving the PD, being in deep disagreement with the new political line of the party imposed by the party secretary and Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi, and joined Possible, the party founded by Civati.
12.
Elly Schlein was elected with over 22,000 votes, the highest vote tally for a councillor in regional history, and was appointed by Stefano Bonaccini as his vice-president.
13.
Elly Schlein is the first publicly-declared LGBTQ secretary of the Italian centre-left leading party.
14.
On 18 April 2023, Elly Schlein expressed her personal opinion in favour of surrogacy.
15.
Elly Schlein describes herself as a feminist and a progressive.
16.
In December 2022, arsonists destroyed a car used by her sister, diplomat Susanna Elly Schlein serving in Athens, prompting Italy's incumbent prime minister Giorgia Meloni to express her "profound concern".