Diop makes history as Tuscany’s youngest vice president.
When Tuscany’s newly re-elected governor unveiled his new regional government on Monday, the focus of the media was on the region’s new deputy president: 23-year-old student Bintou Mia Diop.
The surprise decision by the centre-left governor Eugenio Giani, who was returned for a second term after regional elections last month, followed weeks of negotiations to form a new administration.
Born in 2002 in the Tuscan city of Livorno to a Senegalese father and an Italian-German mother, Diop is currently studying political science at the University of Pisa.
Her father is described by Italian media as a well-known figure in Livorno and a pillar of the city’s Senegalese community.
Diop has been active in the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) party since her teenage years and has previously served as vice president of the urban planning commission on the city council in Livorno.
She now becomes the youngest vice president ever of the Tuscan region.
In a post on social media on Tuesday, Diop thanked Gianni for appointing her to the post, writing: “I’m thrilled, I won’t deny it.”
“Today, my generation lives with impossible rents, precarious jobs, parents we don’t want to burden but from whom we can’t detach ourselves. I’m part of it too” – Diop wrote – “so yes, it’s a huge responsibility. And yes, maybe my hands are shaking a little today. But they are the hands of a generation that knows it wants to do something and wants the opportunity to do so”.
Gianni, 66, is expected to assign portfolios in the coming days.
He also appointed 27-year-old Bernard Dika as undersecretary, saying the move was designed “for a Tuscany capable of speaking to the younger generations, who are our present and future.”
