Katia Bellillo

Katia Bellillo is an Italian politician and former minister. She served in governments under Massimo D'Alema and Giuliano Amato between 1998 and 2001. Originally a member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), she joined the Party of Italian Communists (PDCI) in 1998 and became Minister for Regional Affairs. She later became Minister for Equal Opportunities in 2000, in which role she successfully championed a range of issues including LGBT rights and women's boxing. During the following year, she was physically and verbally attacked by Alessandra Mussolini during a live TV broadcast. After leaving government, in 2008, she was one of the founders of the Unite the Left movement and, after a long political hiatus, unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Perugia in 2019.