Mario Monti

Mario Monti (born 19 March 1943) is an Italian economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis.

Mario Monti was born in Varese on 19 March 1943.

His mother was from Piacenza.

Monti studied at the private Leo XIII High School and attended Bocconi University of Milan, where he obtained a degree in economics in 1965.

Later, he won a scholarship to Yale University where he studied under James Tobin, a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Monti began his academic career at the University of Trento, before moving to teach economics at the University of Turin from 1970 to 1985, and finally to Bocconi University, where he was appointed Rector in 1989, and President in 1994.

He also served as President of the SUERF (The European Money and Finance Forum) from 1982 to 1985.

His research helped to create the "Klein-Monti model", aimed at describing the behaviour of banks operating under monopoly circumstances.

In 1994, Monti was appointed to the Santer Commission, along with Emma Bonino, by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In his office as a European Commissioner from 1994 to 1999, he was responsible for internal market, financial services and financial integration, customs, and taxation.

His work with the Commission earned him the nickname "Super Mario" from his colleagues and from the press.

Monti served as a European Commissioner from 1995 to 2004, with responsibility for the Internal Market, Services, Customs and Taxation from 1995 to 1999 and for Competition from 1999 to 2004.

Monti has also been rector and president of Bocconi University in Milan for many years.

In 1999, Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema confirmed Monti's appointment to the new Prodi Commission and he was given one of the most powerful positions at the Commission, with responsibility for Competition.

As Competition Commissioner, Monti led the investigation into a number of high-profile and controversial mergers, including: Scania AB & Volvo (1999), WorldCom & Sprint (2000), General Electric & Honeywell (2001), Schneider Electric & Legrand (2001) and Carnival Corporation & P&O Ferries (2002).

His term in office also saw the European Court of Justice, for the first time, overrule the Commission's decision to block a merger in three separate cases, although two were decided by his predecessor.

On 1 November 2002, Monti responding to the European Court of Justice's ruling which reversed his decision to block the merger between Airtours & First Choice Holidays said, "Last week was a tough week for the Commission's merger control policy and of course for me."

This ruling in combination with his decision to block the General Electric & Honeywell merger led to criticism in the United States against both the Commission's procedures and accusations that Monti's decisions were politically motivated.

Monti, however, was defended by supporters who saw his actions as an important step in the development of competition law in the EU.

Dan Rubinfeld, an economics professor at the University of California who worked on the US Justice Department's antitrust case against Microsoft, said of Monti, "There has been a lot of talk of politics in this and other cases, but I believe he has been driven entirely by the desire to do the right thing."

On 11 December 2002, Monti proposed a series of reforms to the EU's merger rules and made structural changes within the Commission's Competition department which aimed to improve transparency for companies throughout the merger review process.

Monti was also responsible for levying the EU's largest ever fine at the time (€497 million) against Microsoft for abusing its dominant market position in 2004.

Monti was criticised in the media and by competition lawyers for the perceived inflexibility of the merger oversight process and the high number of cases that were being blocked.

The reforms were adopted by the EU as Regulation 139/2004 (known as ECMR).

In 2004, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi returned to power in Italy and chose not to re-appoint Monti to the Commission when his second term ended.

In 2010, Monti was asked by Commission President Manuel Barroso to draft a "Report on the Future of the Single Market" proposing further measures towards the completion of the EU's Single Market.

On 12 November 2011, in the midst of the European sovereign debt crisis, Monti was invited by President Giorgio Napolitano to form a new technocratic government following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi.

Monti was sworn in as prime minister on 16 November 2011, just a week after having been appointed a Lifetime Senator by President Napolitano, and initially became Minister of Economy and Finances as well, giving that portfolio up the following July.

The published report, adopted by the EU on 13 April 2011, proposed 12 reforms to the Single Market and was intended to "give new momentum" to the European economy.

On 9 November 2011, Monti was appointed a lifetime senator by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

He was seen as a favourite to replace Silvio Berlusconi to lead a new unity government in Italy in order to implement reforms and austerity measures.

On 12 November 2011, following Berlusconi's resignation, Napolitano invited Monti to form a new government.

On 16 November 2011, Monti was sworn in as Prime Minister of Italy, after unveiling a technocratic cabinet composed entirely of unelected professionals.

He also chose to hold the post of Minister of Economy and Finances.

On 17 and 18 November 2011, the Italian Senate and Italian Chamber of Deputies both passed motions of confidence supporting Monti's government, with only Lega Nord voting against.

On 4 December 2011, Monti's government introduced emergency austerity measures intended to stem the worsening economic conditions in Italy and restore market confidence, especially after rising Italian government bond yields began to threaten Italy's financial stability.

From 16 May 2013 to 17 October 2013, Monti was the president of Civic Choice, a centrist political party in Italy.

Monti accepted the offer, and held talks with the leaders of the main Italian political parties, declaring that he wanted to form a government that would remain in office until the next scheduled general elections in 2013.

Although his father grew up in Varese, he was born in Luján in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, where his grandfather Abramo had emigrated to from Italy in the 19th century and built up a soft-drink and beer-production business.

Monti's father went back to Argentina during World War II but later returned to his family home in Varese.