Raffaele Fitto is Minister for European Affairs, Southern Italy, Cohesion Policy, and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

In 2000 he ran for President of Apulia Region and successfully became the youngest regional president in the history of the Italian Republic. He held the post till 2005.

In 2006 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, and was re-elected in 2008, when he held the post of Minister of Regional Affairs and Local Autonomy.

In 2010 his remit was extended to territorial cohesion, thus also managing the then Department for Development and Economic Cohesion.

In 2014 he was elected Member of the European Parliament as Forza Italia Party representative. In 2019, he then became Member of the European Parliament as Fratelli d'Italia Party representative.

On 22 October 2022 he was sworn in as Minister, appointed by Italy’s President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.