Attempt to Address Female Italian Prime Minister as ‘Mr’...

Prime Minister's Office Withdraws Plan to Use 'Signore' and 'Mister' in Official Titles
"Protocol Experts Recommended, but Prime Minister Did Not Want It"

On the 25th (local time), Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaking at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome, Italy. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] There was an attempt to use the male honorific "Mr." in the official title of Giorgia Meloni, Italy's first female prime minister, but it was quickly abandoned due to her refusal.

According to foreign media on the 28th (local time), the Italian Prime Minister's Office sent an official letter to government agencies requesting that the male honorific "Signor" or "Mr." be used in Prime Minister Meloni's official title. However, on the same day, the Prime Minister's Office sent another letter reversing its position, instructing to disregard the previous letter and stating that "such honorifics do not need to be used."

The reason given by the Prime Minister's Office was that "protocol experts recommended using 'Mr. President' as the official title for the prime minister, but Meloni did not want this and decided not to use it." As Italy's first female prime minister takes office, unprecedented protocol issues regarding honorifics have caused confusion. Meloni also attracted attention by using the masculine definite article 'il' instead of the feminine 'la' when referring to the prime minister in the title of her first statement after taking office on the 23rd. Earlier, after winning the election on the 25th of last month, she announced that she would use the masculine definite article in her official prime ministerial title, angering feminists.

While some praise the birth of the first female prime minister as breaking the "glass ceiling" for Italian women politicians, Meloni is not particularly supportive of women. She maintains the position that women should reach the top through merit and opposes quotas for women in boards and parliament. In fact, only 6 of the 24 officials in her newly formed cabinet are women.

Meanwhile, Meloni has a 6-year-old daughter with Andrea Zambruno, who is four years her junior and her common-law partner. Italian media refer to Zambruno as the "First Gentleman."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.