So who is Italy’s new leader?

Draghi is most widely known as the former chief of the European Central Bank (ECB).

The 73-year-old is often dubbed “Super Mario” for doing “whatever it takes” to save the eurozone in the midst of the 2010s debt crisis.

Draghi was summoned by Italian President Sergio Mattarella earlier this month to form a national unity government and lead his country through a devastating coronavirus pandemic and a crippling recession.

Teenage trauma

Born on September 3, 1947, into a wealthy family in Rome, Draghi lost both of his parents during his teens: his father, a Padua-native and manager at the Bank of Italy, died when he was 15 years old and his mother, a pharmacist originally from Campania, passed away a few months later.

He was left to care for two younger siblings – Andreina and Marcello – with the help of an aunt.

But at school, he remained focused and studious.

He was educated in a Jesuit-run elite high school where he excelled in maths, Latin and basketball, and sat in class with the likes of former Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. 

“As a kid he was the same as now,” another classmate, TV presenter Giancarlo Magalli, once told Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

“He always had that sideways smirk he still has now.”

Road to success

In 1970, Draghi graduated in economics at Rome’s La Sapienza University.

He earned a PhD from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States, where he graduated under Nobel prize winners Franco Modigliani and Robert Solow.

Draghi then taught economics in several Italian universities, including the University of Trento, the University of Padua and the University of Venice. 

After spending six years at the World Bank from 1984 to 1990, he led the treasury department at the Italian economy ministry for a decade, working under nine separate governments.

There, among other tasks, he worked on negotiating Italy’s membership of the single currency. 

He developed an insider’s knowledge of the Italian government – and also, apparently, a dislike of long meetings.

Early in his career, he picked up the nickname “Mr Somewhere Else” for his habit of slipping out of meetings to take a call or talk to an official.

The rise of “Super Mario”

In 2002, Draghi joined the management of Goldman Sachs, before being appointed governor of the Bank of Italy in 2006, after a scandal involving its former head, Antonio Fazio.

He was named to head the ECB in November 2011, succeeding Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet, when a near-bankruptcy situation in Italy risked triggering the collapse of the entire eurozone. 

In July 2012, Draghi made history and headlines by pledging to do “whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, adding: “And believe me, it will be enough.”

That and the policies that followed led to a steady decline in borrowing costs for indebted eurozone members, including Italy, and earned Draghi the nickname “Super Mario”.

In 2014 Draghi was listed by Forbes magazine as the eighth most powerful person in the world, dropping to 18th place in 2018, the year before he handed over the ECB reigns to his successor Christine Lagarde.

Stepping away from the spotlight

After leaving the ECB in 2019, Draghi laid low and focused on family.

Draghi has been married to Serena Cappello since 1973 and the couple have two children, Federica and Giacomo.

He spent most of last year’s coronavirus lockdown period in his country house in Umbria.

Italy’s new saviour

As of Saturday, Draghi is Italian Prime Minister and now faces the mammoth task of saving the country from the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating economic impact.

All but one of Italy’s major parties have rallied to his side and his cabinet includes representatives from across the political spectrum, as well as technocrats in key posts, including the finance ministry and a new green transition portfolio.

Although Draghi himself has no political power base, he relies on years of experience in the Italian civil service, as well as his banking career.

A new survey showed the former banker had the support of 62 per cent of Italians.