Sergio Mattarella in the context of "Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art"

The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (Italian: Presidente della Repubblica Italiana), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Italian Armed Forces and chairs the High Council of the Judiciary. The president serves a seven-year term, with no term limits. The incumbent president is former constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, who was elected on 31 January 2015, and re-elected on 29 January 2022.

Giuseppe Conte (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈkonte]; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) since August 2021.

Conte spent the greater part of his career as a private law professor and was also a member of the Italian Bureau of Administrative Justice from 2013 to 2018. Following the 2018 Italian general election, he was proposed as the independent leader of a coalition government between the M5S and the League, despite his having never held any political position before. After both parties agreed on a programme of government, he was sworn in as prime minister on 1 June by President Sergio Mattarella, appointing the M5S and League leaders as his joint deputies. In August 2019, the League filed a motion of no confidence in the coalition government and Conte offered to resign as prime minister; the M5S and the Democratic Party agreed to form a new government, with Conte remaining at its head. This made Conte the first prime minister to lead two separate Italian governments made up of right-wing and left-wing coalition partners.

The Italian order of precedence is fixed by Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers (D.P.C.M.) of April 14, 2006 and of April 16, 2008. It is a hierarchy of officials in the Italian Republic used to direct protocol. The President, being head of state, is first, and the Prime Minister (President of the Council of Ministers), the head of government, is fourth.

1. The President of the Republic (Sergio Mattarella)
2. (Cardinals and princes of reigning dynasties - these officers cannot preside over the ceremony)
3. The President of the Senate of the Republic (Ignazio La Russa)
4. The President of the Chamber of Deputies (Lorenzo Fontana)
5. The President of the Council of Ministers (Prime-Minister) (Giorgia Meloni)
6. The President of the Constitutional Court (Giovanni Amoroso)
7. Former President of the Republic (None living)
8. Vice Presidents of the Senate of the Republic
   1. Anna Rossomando
   2. Gian Marco Centinaio
   3. Maria Domenica Castellone
   4. Licia Ronzulli
9. Vice Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies
   1. Sergio Costa
   2. Fabio Rampelli
   3. Giorgio Mulé
   4. Anna Ascani
10. Vice Presidents of the Council of Ministers
    1. Antonio Tajani
    2. Matteo Salvini
11. Vice Presidents of the Constitutional Court
    1. Franco Modugno
    2. Giulio Prosperetti
12. Ministers of the Republic
13. Judges of the Constitutional Court
14. Presidents of Regions
15. The First President of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Margherita Cassano)
16. The President of the National Council for Economics and Labour (Renato Brunetta)
17. Deputy Ministers of the Republic
18. Quaestors of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, in order of seniority
19. Presidents of Parliamentary Commissions
20. The President of the Council of State (Luigi Maruotti)
21. The President of the Court of Accounts (Guido Carlino)
22. The Governor of the Central Bank of Italy (Fabio Panetta)
23. The General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Luigi Salvato)
24. The Attorney General of the Republic (Gabriella Palmieri Sandulli)
25. The Chief of the Defence Staff
26. Senators and Deputies, in order of appointment
27. The President of the Accademia dei Lincei (Roberto Antonelli)
28. The President of the National Research Council (Maria Chiara Carrozza)
29. The President of the Superior Court of Public Waters
30. The Vice President of the Council of Military Courts
31. The Vice President of the High Council of the Judiciary
32. The Presidents of the Autonomous Provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol
33. The Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Cassation
34. Prefects, in their provinces
35. Mayors, in their cities
36. Presidents and General Prosecutors of the Court of Appeals
37. Presidents of Provinces, in their cities
38. Catholic Bishops, in their dioceses
39. The Chief of the Army Staff (Amm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone)
40. The Chief of the Navy Staff (Amm. Sq. Enrico Credendino)
41. The Chief of the Air Staff (Gen. S.A. Luca Goretti)
42. The President of the Permanent conference of Rectors (Dr. Giovanna Iannantuoni, PhD)
43. Ambassadors, in order of establishment of diplomatic relations with their countries

The politics of Italy are conducted through a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. Italy has been a democratic republic since 2 June 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum and a constituent assembly, formed by the representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy, was elected to draft a constitution, which was promulgated on 1 January 1948.

Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers, which is led by the Prime Minister, officially referred to as "President of the Council" (Presidente del Consiglio). Legislative power is vested primarily in the two houses of Parliament and secondarily in the Council of Ministers, which can introduce bills and holds the majority in both houses. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches. It is headed by the High Council of the Judiciary, a body presided over by the President, who is the head of state, though this position is separate from all branches. The current president is Sergio Mattarella, and the current prime minister is Giorgia Meloni.

The 2015 Italian presidential election was held on 29–31 January, following the resignation of President Giorgio Napolitano on 14 January 2015. The office was held at the time of the election by Senate President Pietro Grasso in an acting capacity. Only members of Italian Parliament and regional delegates are entitled to vote. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system.

On 31 January, at the fourth round of voting, the Judge of the Constitutional Court and former Deputy Prime Minister Sergio Mattarella was elected President of the Italian Republic with 665 votes out of 1,009.

The 2022 Italian presidential election was held in Rome between 24 and 29 January 2022. The president of Italy was elected by a joint assembly composed of the Italian Parliament and regional representatives. The election process extended over multiple days, culminating in incumbent president Sergio Mattarella being confirmed for a second term, with a total of 759 votes on the eighth ballot. This was the second most votes (after Sandro Pertini in 1978) ever received by a presidential candidate. Mattarella became the second president to be re-elected, his predecessor Giorgio Napolitano being the first.

Mattarella had initially ruled out a second term. On 29 January, he agreed to serve a second term, as most party leaders and Mario Draghi, the prime minister of Italy, asked him to accept their joint nomination for another term. Mattarella had previously already received significant and growing support in several rounds of voting, namely 125 votes on the third ballot, 166 votes on the fourth ballot, 336 votes on the sixth ballot, and 387 votes on the seventh ballot. Among Italian presidential elections, the 2022 election had the highest number of ballots since 1992, when Oscar Luigi Scalfaro was elected on the 16th ballot.

Italy has recognised civil unions since 5 June 2016, providing same-sex couples with almost all of the legal protections, benefits and rights of marriage. A bill to this effect was approved by the Senate on 25 February 2016 and by the Chamber of Deputies on 11 May. It was signed into law by President Sergio Mattarella on 20 May, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale the next day and took effect on 5 June 2016. The law does not grant same-sex couples joint adoption rights or access to in vitro fertilisation. Before this, several regions had supported a national law on civil unions and some municipalities passed laws providing for civil unions, though the rights conferred by these unions varied from place to place.

Italy remains one of the last countries in Western Europe not to have legalized same-sex marriage. Polling suggests that a majority of Italians support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.