Toni Iwobi
Member of the Senate
In office
23 March 2018 – 12 October 2022
Personal details
Born (1955-04-26) 26 April 1955
Gusau, Nigeria
NationalityItalian
Political partyLega Nord
Alma materPacific Western University
ProfessionPolitician, entrepreneur

Tony Chike Iwobi (born 26 April 1955),[1][2] better known as Toni Iwobi, is an Italian politician for Lega Nord who was elected to the Italian Senate in the 2018 general election.[3]

Early life and education

Born in the city of Gusau in northern Nigeria, he is of Igbo descent. He is one of 11 siblings in a Roman Catholic family.[4] He attended Catholic schools. His mother tongue is Igbo and English.[2]

He completed a degree in economics with specialization in marketing and business management in Manchester, England. He came to Italy on a student visa in 1976, and obtained a degree in accounting in Treviglio. He also has higher degrees (laurea) in computer science from the USA and Italy.[2]

Career

Iwobi is the founder and since 2001 managing director of Data Communication Labs Ltd.[3][5] Previously he worked for AMSA (Azienda Milanese Servizi Ambientali) and has worked for a company in Roveredo, Switzerland.[2] A supporter of federalism, which he knew from Nigeria, he became a member of Lega Nord, where he was particularly inspired by Gianfranco Miglio.[6] In 1993, he was elected municipal councillor for the party in Spirano, a position he held until 2014. From 2010 to 2014 he also served as assessor with responsibility for social services.[1][4]

Iwobi was in 2014 selected by party leader Matteo Salvini to draft Lega Nord's new immigration policy which had a hard stance against illegal immigration and played a big role in the party's campaign in the 2018 Italian general election.[7]

In the 2018 general election he was elected to the Italian Senate, becoming the first black person to take a seat in the Senate.[3][4][7]

He is general counsel of the Italy-USA Foundation.

He did not stand up for re-election in 2022.

Personal life

He is married to an Italian woman, Lucia, and has two children, Elisabetta and Clifford.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 CV Commune.spirano. Retrieved 6 March 2018
  2. 1 2 3 4 Chi è Toni Iwobi, il primo senatore di colore in Italia Lettera 43. Retrieved 6 March 2018
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jessica Phelan (6 March 2018) Italy elects its first black senator: Toni Iwobi of the League TheLocal.It. Retrieved 6 March 2018
  4. 1 2 3 Nigeriano, immigrato, titolare d'azienda: eletto dalla Lega il primo senatore di colore Milano.republicca.it. Retrieved 6 March 2018
  5. ↑ "History | Data Communication Labs S.r.l." 10 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  6. ↑ Matteo Borghi La strana storia del nero leghista che stravede per Miglio L'intraprendente. Retrieved 7 March 2018
  7. 1 2 Terry Daley (9 March 2018) Toni Iwobi, the black face of Italy's far-right AFP/Newsyahoo.com. Retrieved 11 March 2018
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