Roberto Maroni

Roberto Maroni (born March 15, 1955) is an Italian politician from Varese. He is a member of the Northern League (Italian: Lega Nord) party.

In 1979, he received a law degree, with a dissertation in Civil Law, from the University of Milan. He became a lawyer after spending two years working as a Legal Affairs Manager for various companies.

In 1990, he was elected Province Secretary of the Northern League in Varese. He also became a town councilor in Varese that year. Two years later, he was elected Chairman of the Northern League Parliamentary Group. He also entered the party's Federal Council and campaigned heavily for the Northern League prior to Berlusconi's first Cabinet.

He was Minister of the Interior during the first Silvio Berlusconi administration, from 1994 to 1995 and Minister of Labour and Welfare during Berlusconi's second and third governments, from 2001 until May 2006.

In April 2006, after Berlusconi narrowly lost his re-election bid to Romano Prodi, Maroni alleged problems with the election comparable to those in Florida during the 2000 Presidential election. "The level pegging is very similar to what happened in Florida. With one vote more or one vote less, you lose or you win," he said.