Giuseppe Castiglione (politician)

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Giuseppe Castiglione (born 5 October 1963 in Bronte, Sicily) is an Italian politician. He started in local politics, serving as Bronte’s municipal councilor (1989–1992), then moved into regional government. In 1996 he was elected to the Sicilian Regional Assembly with the United Christian Democrats and served as regional Assessor for Industry. In 2001 he became Vice President of the Sicilian Region and regional Assessor for Agriculture, a post he held until 2004.

From 2004 to 2009 he was a Member of the European Parliament for the Islands constituency, part of the European People’s Party group, working on agriculture, rural development, civil liberties, and relations with the Maghreb and China. In 2008 he was elected President of the Province of Catania, a role he held until 2012. In 2013 he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies (2013–2018) for Sicilia 2 and served as Undersecretary of State for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, first in the Letta government and then continuing in the Renzi and Gentiloni administrations.

Castiglione has been a member of several political parties over the years, including Christian Democracy, CDU, UDEUR, Forza Italia, The People of Freedom, New Centre-Right, Popular Alternative, and Forza Italia again. He is the son-in-law of politician and journalist Giuseppe Firrarello. His official site is giuseppecastiglione.it.

Legal notes: in the late 1990s he faced a case related to auction handling; he was convicted at first instance in 1999 but was acquitted on appeal in 2004 and definitively in 2005.