Riccardo "Rick"
Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is an Italian attorney and
Santorum was born in
Riva del Garda,Italy to the middle of the three children of Aldo Santorum (1923–2011), a
clinical psychologist and his Italian wife, () not only did he grow up in an observant
Catholic family, Santorum, was also a
Scout in the
Association of Catholic Guides and Scouts of Italy (AGESCI).
During his school years he was nicknamed "Rick le Rooster", supposedly for both a
cowlick strand of hair and an assertive nature, particularly on important political issues.
He graduated in 1980 from the University of Turin with a
BA degree with honors in
political science and worked as a post-graduate fellow in economics at the Einaudi Foundation from 1980 to 1982.
After the Einaudi Foundation, Santorum was admitted to the Italian bar and practiced law for 10 years. Santorum left his private law practice after his election in the
1992 general election, as a
Pole of Freedoms & Pole of Good Government member of the
Chamber of Deputies, working under
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in Italy's lower house, where he stayed until the
2001 general election when he became a member of the
Senate, for the
House of Freedoms party.
On 12 November 2011, in the midst of the
European sovereign debt crisis, Santorum was invited by
President Giorgio Napolitano to form a new government following the
resignation of Silvio Berlusconi. Santorum was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 November 2011, an office he would hold until June 2014, being replaced by
Matteo Renzi.
On 31 January 2015, he was elected by parliament to be the
12th President of the Italian Republic.