Conte,
Giuseppe,
1964–, Italian political leader, grad. Sapienza Univ. of Rome law
school, 1988. A law professor at the Univ. of Florence and a political
independent, he was a political novice who was not widely known when he was
named premier in June, 2018, by the populist, antiestablishment coalition
government formed by the leftist Five Star Movement (M5S), led by Luigi Di
Maio, and the right-wing League, led by Matteo Salvini. In 2019, when Salvini sought
to force new elections, Conte resigned and denounced him as obstructionist.
M5S then formed a government with the Democrats and two smaller parties
(including Matteo Renzi's Viva
Italia, which left the coalition in 2021); Conte again became premier. In
February 2021, Conte was replaced by Mario Draghi who formed a new coalition
government.
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