Gregorio de Falco

Gregorio de Falco (born 8 March 1965) is an Italian naval officer and politician, currently a member of the Italian Senate.

Gregorio de Falco
Member of the Senate of the Republic
Assumed office
23 March 2018
ConstituencyTuscany
Personal details
Born
Gregorio Maria de Falco

(1965-03-08) 8 March 1965
Naples, Italy
Political partyFive Star Movement (2018)
Independent (2018–20)
Action/More Europe (2020–21)
Europeanists (2021–)
Alma materUniversity of Milan
ProfessionNaval officer
Military service
Allegiance Italy
Branch/service Italian Navy
RankFrigate captain (Commander)
Unit Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard

He is best known for his intervention in the attempt to solve the Costa Concordia disaster in January 2012.[1]

Early life and education

After graduating in Law at the University of Milan, in 1994 De Falco joined the Corps of the Port Captaincies in Leghorn, studying at the Naval Academy.[1]

Career

In 2000, De Falco left Leghorn joining the Captaincy in Genoa.[1]

With the rank of lieutenant, De Falco was assigned the Command in Santa Margherita Ligure, where he stood from 2003 to 2005.[1]

Costa Concordia disaster

On 13 January 2012, the Costa Concordia cruise ship, owned by the Costa Crociere shipping company and under the command of Captain Francesco Schettino, impacted a rock in the waters of Isola del Giglio, reporting the opening of a 70-meter-long hole on the left side, followed by the partial submersion of the ship.[2]

De Falco, who led the Captaincy in Leghorn, assumed the coordination of the rescues to the cruise unit in difficulty. During the radio and telephone communications between the operating room of the Livorno Captaincy and the Costa Concordia, taken by De Falco and Schettino, the naval officer ordered, in vain, for the captain of the Costa Concordia, who had abandoned ship, to return to the vessel. De Falco's order Vada a bordo, cazzo! (transl. Get the fuck back on board!) became very popular.[3][4]

Political career

De Falco ran for a seat in the Senate with the Five Star Movement in the 2018 general election[5] and was elected.[6]

He was a member of the left-wing of the Movement and is considered to be very close to the President of the Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico.[7] On 31 December 2018, De Falco was expelled from the Movement after being accused of having violated the code of ethics of the Movement several times. In an interview, he declared that he was expelled for voting against the decree "Decreto sicurezza", and accused the Five Star Movement of lacking democracy and freedom of choice.[8]

References
  1. "Chi è Gregorio De Falco". Il Post. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  2. "Concordia: 5 anni fa la tragedia che causò 32 vittime". ANSA. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  3. "Costa Concordia, De Falco 5 anni dopo: "Schettino? Se mi avesse dato retta, gli avrebbero steso i tappeti rossi"". Il Fatto Quotidiano. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  4. "De Falco, l'eroe normale della Concordia". Fanpage.it. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  5. "Sale a bordo dei 5 Stelle Gregorio De Falco, l'anti Schettino". The Huffington Post. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  6. "Elezioni: De Falco, io eletto al Senato". ANSA. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  7. "Caso Diciotti, 5Stelle divisi. De Falco con Fico: "Fate scendere i naufraghi". Ma Buffagni critica il presidente della Camera". La Repubblica. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  8. "M5S espelle senatori De Falco e De Bonis". ANSA. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  • Files about his parliamentary activities (in Italian): XVIII legislature.
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