Cécile Kyenge
Cécile Kashetu Kyenge | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2014 | |
| Member of the European Parliament for North-East Italy | |
| In office 1 July 2014 – 2 July 2019 | |
| Minister for Integration | |
| In office 28 April 2013 – 22 February 2014 | |
| President | Giorgio Napolitano |
| Prime Minister | Enrico Letta |
| Preceded by | Andrea Riccardi |
| Succeeded by | Ministry abolished |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 26 February 2013 – 18 February 2014 | |
| Constituency | Emilia-Romagna |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 August 1964 |
| Party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Domenico Grispino (1994–2019) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore |
| Profession | Ophthalmologist |
Cécile Kashetu Kyenge (Italian: [seˈsil ˈkjɛŋɡe]; born Kashetu Kyenge, 28 August 1964) is an Italian politician and ophthalmologist. She served as the Minister for Integration in the Letta Cabinet and was an MEP in the 8th European parliament.
After moving to Italy in 1983 at the age of 19, she became a qualified ophthalmologist in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. She has founded an intercultural Association (DAWA) to promote mutual awareness, integration and cooperation between Italy and Africa, particularly in her country of birth, the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is also the spokesperson of the association "March First", which works to promote the rights of migrants in Italy.
In February 2013 she was elected member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Democratic Party in Emilia-Romagna. Two months later she was appointed Minister for Integration in the grand coalition government formed by Enrico Letta, becoming Italy's first black cabinet minister. She supports the introduction of a Jus soli law to grant citizenship to children of immigrants born on Italian soil.