Draft:Alessandro Chiocchetti

Alessandro Chiocchetti, born on 4 November 1968 in Moena, Italy, is an Italian professional and the Secretary-General of the European Parliament since 1 January 2023. He is also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with various roles since his traineeship in 1995.

He has worked as an Accredited Parliamentary Assistant, an Administrator, a Member of the Cabinet of the Secretary-General, the Head of the Legislative Coordination Unit, the Deputy Head of the Cabinet of the President, and the Director for Legislative and Committees’ Coordination.

As the Secretary-General, Chiocchetti oversees the administration and management of the Parliament. He supports the President, MEPs, and the Parliament’s bodies in their legislative and political work. He has expertise in European integration and governance that has helped many policy areas and initiatives. He also serves as the Head of the Cabinet of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

Biography

Chiocchetti was born on November 4, 1968, in Moena, a town in the Dolomites mountains in the Trentino region of Italy. He graduated in political science and international law from the University of Padua, and obtained a postgraduate diploma in international law, economics, history and European integration from the same university and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He started his career in the European institutions in 1995, as a trainee in the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, in the unit in charge of relations with citizens. The following year, he became an accredited parliamentary assistant for the Italian delegation of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the Parliament.

In 2004, he joined the Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, where he worked as an administrator and then as the head of the legislative coordination unit and the secretariat of the Conference of Committee Chairs. In 2007, he became a member of the cabinet of the secretary-general of the Parliament, first Harald Römer and then Klaus Welle.

In 2017, he was appointed deputy head of the cabinet of the president of the Parliament, Antonio Tajani, also from the EPP. In 2019, he became the director for legislative and committees’ coordination, a senior position in the Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union.

In 2022, he was nominated by the new president of the Parliament, Roberta Metsola, also from the EPP, to be the secretary-general of the institution. His nomination was controversial, as some critics accused him of being a beneficiary of nepotism and political horse-trading. However, Metsola defended him as the most qualified candidate, and he was confirmed by the Parliament’s leadership in September 2022.

Professional experience

Since January 2023: Secretary-General of the European Parliament

January-December 2022: Head of the Cabinet of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola

2019-2022: Director for Legislative and Committees’ Coordination, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, European Parliament

2017-2019: Deputy Head of the Cabinet of the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani

2011-2017: Head of the Legislative coordination Unit, Head of the Secretariat of the Conference of Committee Chairs, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, European Parliament

2009-2011: Member of the Cabinet of the Secretary-General of the European Parliament, Klaus Welle

2007-2009: Member of the Cabinet of the Secretary-General of the European Parliament, Harald Römer

2004-2007: Administrator, Legislative coordination Unit, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, European Parliament

1996-2004: Accredited Parliamentary Assistant, EPP Italian Delegation, European Parliament

1995-1996: Trainee in the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, Unit in charge of relations with Citizens