Nichi Vendola

Nicola Vendola (born 26 August 1958 in Terlizzi, Bari), commonly known as Nichi, is a Italian politician and President of the Apulia region.

Registered to the Youth Communists' Federation since the age of 14, he graduated in Literature presenting a dissertation about poet and movie director Pier Paolo Pasolini. He then went on becoming journalist for L'Unità, and main member of Arcigay.

Member of the National Secretarship of the Italian Communist Party, he fiercely opposed the breakdown imposed by Achille Occhetto in 1991 and joined contemporarily the Communist Refoundation Party.

First elected to the Chamber of Deputes in 1992, and then re-elected till today, he became in these years, as his role of Anti-Mafia Commissioner, a strong opponent of the Italian mobs.

Running in 2005 for the first primary election held in Italy, called to choose the candidate for left-wing The Union as Apulia president, he eventually won the election. Then, on the regional election of Apulia, held in April 2005, he even defeated outgoing president Raffaele Fitto, candidate for House of Freedoms, despite all unfavourable forecasts, so becoming the first member of the Communist Refoundation Party to be elected as president of any Italian region.

Vendola is also a poet: some of his poems have been collected in a book, named L'ultimo mare (The last sea). His figure even inspired a biographical movie, named Nichi, and annunced out for May 2005.