"Cities in the Planetary Garden"

Known for his work fighting the Sicilian mafia as Mayor of Palermo in the 1980s and 90s, Leoluca Orlando now uses his position to advance the rights of migrants within Italy and elsewhere. He is currently negotiating to persuade the EU to allow freedom of movement for migrants. Follow his keynote speech,‘Cities in the Planetary Garden’, at the rentrée of the Sciences Po Urban School.

Biography

1 August 1947: Leoluca Orlando is born in Palermo.
1978: he is elected to the Palermo city council.
1985: appointed Mayor of Palermo. Orlando held this position from 1985 to 1990, and then from 1993 to 2000 upon his re-election.
1992: begins working for two years within the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, a position he returns to in 2006 until 2012.
1994: he joins the European Parliament, where he acts as a member of the Committees for Public Liberties and Home Affairs, Regional Politics, and Safety and Disarmament, as well as Vice President to the Committee for Malta’s entry into the European Union.
Since 2000: Orlando occupies the position of President of the ‘Sicilian Renaissance Institute’, a non-profit organization promoting human rights and Sicilian economy and culture.
2009: he is elected deputy of the European Parliament and Vice President of the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe).
2012 to today: Orlando is re-elected Mayor of Palermo for the fourth time in his career.

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