Born in
Reggio nell'Emilia, he
graduated in Political science. In the 1970s he was collaborator of
Giuseppe Dossetti, then of
Benigno Zaccagnini and
Mino Martinazzoli. In 1980 he was elected region councillor in
Emilia-Romagna and two years later he became regional secretary of
Christian Democracy. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in the
1987 Italian general election, Castagnetti was re-elected also in the
general election of 1992, while in the
1994 European Parliament election he was elected MEP. In 1991, he was among the members of DC who voted against Italy's participation in the
Gulf War. In the
Italian People's Party's congress of 1997, Castagnetti was beaten by
Franco Marini for the appointment as secretary of the party, but in 1999 he managed to become the party's leader by beating
Dario Franceschini and
Ortensio Zecchino. Re-elected deputy in the
2001 Italian general election, in 2002 he disbanded the PPI to join
Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy, a new party led by
Francesco Rutelli. In 2002 he was returned to judgment to trial with the charge of corruption, but on 15 April 2003, the Preliminary Judge granted him the attenuating and declared the offense prescribed. Elected deputy also in the 2006 and
2008 general election, in 2011 Castagnetti announced his intention not to stand for re-election to encourage political renewal. From 2006 to 2008 he was Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, while from 2008 to 2013 he was President of the
Council for the Permissions to proceed of the Chamber. He is member of the head of
House of European History. ==References==