Giorgia Meloni

 ( 1977 Births ) 

In 1998, after winning the primary election, Meloni was elected as a councillor of the province of Rome, holding this position until 2002. She was elected national director in 2000 and became the first woman president of Youth Action, the AN youth wing, in 2004. During these years, she worked as a nanny, waitress, and bartender at the Piper Club, one of the most famous in Rome.

Meloni graduated from Istituto tecnico professionale di Stato Amerigo Vespucci in 1996. After her election to the Italian Parliament in 2006, she declared in her curriculum vitae that she obtained a high school diploma in languages with the final mark of 60/60, and "Diploma di liceo linguistico; Giornalista".*

• This created some controversy, as Istituto tecnico professionale di Stato Amerigo Vespucci was not a foreign language high school and was not qualified to issue any diploma in languages; instead, it was a Hospitality Institute (see ) specialised in issuing professional diplomas for job titles such as chef, waiter, entertainer, tour guide, hostess, depending on the course of studies chosen by the student. It is unknown what course of studies Meloni selected at Istituto tecnico professionale di Stato Amerigo Vespucci. Meloni mentioned that the Hospitality Institute she attended became the Centro di Formazione Professionale Ernesto Nathan issuing diplomas in foreign languages. However, training centers are not allowed to issue diplomas. The Centro di Formazione Professionale Ernesto Nathan issues qualifications for beauticians and hairdressers.

In 2008, at 31 years old, she was appointed Minister for Youth Policies in the fourth Berlusconi government, a position she held until 16 November 2011, when Berlusconi was forced to resign as the prime minister amid a financial crisis and public protests. She was the second youngest-ever minister in the history of united Italy. In August 2008, she invited Italian athletes to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in disagreement with the Chinese policy implemented towards Tibet; this statement was criticised by Berlusconi, as well as the foreign affairs minister Franco Frattini. In 2009, her party merged with Forza Italia (FI) into The People of Freedom (PdL) and she took over the presidency of the united party's youth section, called Young Italy. In the same year, she voted in favour of a decree law against euthanasia.

In November 2010, on behalf of the ministry, she presented a 300 million euro package called the Right to the Future. It was aimed at investing in young people and contained five initiatives, including incentives for new entrepreneurs, bonuses in favour of temporary workers and loans for deserving students. In November 2012, she announced her bid to contest the PdL leadership against Angelino Alfano, in opposition to the party's support of the Monti government. After the cancellation of the primaries, she teamed up with fellow politicians Ignazio La Russa and Guido Crosetto to set out an anti-Monti policy, asking for renewal within the party and being also critical of the leadership of Berlusconi.

In March 2014, she became president of FdI, and in April she was nominated for the 2014 European Parliament election in Italy as the leader of the FdI in all five constituencies. FdI party obtained 3.7% of the votes, not exceeding the threshold of 4%, and she did not become a Member of the European Parliament; she received 348,700 votes. On 4 November 2015, she founded Our Land, a conservative political committee in support of her campaigns. Our Land was a parallel organisation to FdI, and aimed at enlarging FdI's popular base.

On 30 January 2016, she participated in the Family Day, an anti-LGBT rights demonstration, declaring herself against LGBT adoption. At the same Family Day, she announced that she was pregnant; her daughter Ginevra was born on 16 September. In the 2016 Rome municipal election in June, she ran for mayor with the support of Us with Salvini, a political party led by Matteo Salvini, and in opposition to the candidate supported by Berlusconi's Forza Italia (FI), Alfio Marchini. In May 2016, she promised to name a street after Giorgio Almirante if elected, causing controversy among the local Jewish community and the anti-fascist association ANPI (Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia). Meloni won 20.6% of the vote, almost twice that of FI's candidate, but she did not qualify for the run-off, while FdI obtained 12.3% of the vote.

During the campaign for the 2016 Italian constitutional referendum on the reform promoted by the Renzi government, Meloni founded the "No, Thanks" committee and participated in numerous television debates, including one against the then prime minister Matteo Renzi. As "No" won with almost 60% of the votes on 4 December, Meloni called for snap elections. When Renzi resigned the next day, she withheld confidence from the next government led by Paolo Gentiloni on 12 December. The 2–3 December 2017 congress of FdI in Trieste saw the re-election of Meloni as president of the party, as well as a renewal of the party logo and the joining of Daniela Santanchè, a long-time right-wing politician.

As party leader, she decided to form the alliance with the League (Lega), led by Salvini, launching several political campaigns with him against the centre-left government led by the Democratic Party (PD), placing FdI in Eurosceptic and right-wing populist positions. In the 2018 Italian general election, FdI stood as part of the centre-right coalition, with Berlusconi's FI, Salvini's Lega, and Raffaele Fitto's Us with Italy. Meloni's party obtained 4.4% of the vote and more than three times the seats won in 2013. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the single-member constituency of Latina, Lazio, with 41% of the vote. The centre-right coalition, in which the League emerged as the main political force, won a plurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies; as no political group or party won an outright majority, it resulted in a hung parliament.

On 19 October 2019, she participated in the Italian Pride rally in Rome against the newly formed second Conte government. In her speech, she criticised the proposal to replace on the Italian identity cards of minors the wording father and mother with parent 1 and parent 2, concluding with the slogan "I am Giorgia. I'm a woman, I'm a mother, I'm Italian, I'm Christian". This slogan was remixed by two Milanese DJs, becoming a disco-trash catchphrase with millions of views, imitations, and memes on social media, even winning a gold disc. By her own admission in her autobiography, the media and viral success of the remixed music video, having lost the original Satire intention in favour of the LGBT community with which it had been created, greatly increased her popularity as a politician, who she said was suddenly transformed "from a boring politician into a curious pop phenomenon".

In an attempt to moderate herself to placate fears among those who describe FdI as neo-fascist or far right, including fears within the European Commission that she could lead Italy towards Hungary under Viktor Orbán, Meloni told the foreign press that Italian fascism is history. As president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party since 2020, she said she shared the experiences and values of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Likud in Israel, and the Republican Party in the United States. Critics were sceptical of her claims, citing her speeches on LGBT rights. She campaigned for lower taxes, less European bureaucracy, and a halt to illegal immigration through a naval blockade, saying she would put national interests first.

In a record-low voter turnout election, projected that the centre-right coalition would win a majority of seats in the 2022 general election. Meloni was projected to be the winner of the election with FdI receiving a plurality of seats, and per agreement with the centre-right coalition, which held that the largest party in the coalition would nominate the next prime minister, she was the frontrunner and would become the country's first female prime minister. The PD, head of the centre-left coalition, conceded defeat shortly after the exit polls, and Hungary's Orbán, Poland's Mateusz Morawiecki, United Kingdom's Liz Truss, and Marine Le Pen, former leader of National Rally (RN) in France, congratulated Meloni. European radical right parties and leaders, such as Alternative for Germany and Vox, also celebrated Meloni's results. After many years of absence from politics, Gianfranco Fini, former leader of the MSI and AN during the early years of Meloni's political career, expressed satisfaction for her victory, said he had voted for her party, and described her as an anti-fascist, despite her rejection of the label, which she considers to be political.

Observers have debated how right-wing a Meloni-led government would be, and which label and position on the political spectrum would be more accurate or realistic. Many variously described it as Italy's first far-right-led government since World War II, and Meloni as the first far-right leader since Benito Mussolini, and some academics also described it as the most right-wing government since 1945. Many questioned its direction, citing Berlusconi's and Salvini's Russian ties, in contrast to Meloni's Atlanticism. Others, such as Sky News, while citing Meloni's and her party's neo-fascist roots, disagreed with the far-right label and said: "Giorgia Meloni is not a fascist." Steve Sedwick of CNBC summarised the discussion, saying: "Have we got a centre-right coalition, have we got a right coalition, have we got a far-right coalition, or have we got a fascist coalition? I have seen all four printed, depending on who you read."

On 20 October, consultations between President Sergio Mattarella and parties officially began. On the following day, delegates from FdI, the League, FI, and Civics of Italy–Us Moderates–MAIE, announced to Mattarella they had reached an agreement to form a coalition government with Meloni as Prime Minister. In the afternoon, Mattarella summoned Meloni to the Quirinal Palace, asking her to form a new government. She accepted the task and on the same day announced the composition of Meloni Cabinet, which was officially sworn in on 22 October. Updated as of 22 October 2022. Updated as of 22 October 2022. She is the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister of Italy.

On 25 October, Meloni gave her first official speech as prime minister in front of the Chamber of Deputies, before the confidence vote on her cabinet. During her speech, she stressed the weight of being the first woman to serve as head of the Italian government. She thanked several Italian women, including Tina Anselmi, Samantha Cristoforetti, Grazia Deledda, Oriana Fallaci, Nilde Iotti, Rita Levi-Montalcini, and Maria Montessori, who she said, "with the boards of their own examples, built the ladder that today allows me to climb and break the heavy glass ceiling placed over our heads." The government won the confidence vote with a comfortable majority in both houses.

From an economic point of view, Meloni and her government have decided to prevent the increase in energy prices, in continuity with her predecessor Mario Draghi, by lowering prices, giving subsidies to families and businesses and making new drilling decisions in the Italian seas to increase national gas production. The government decided also to increase the cash ceiling from €2,000 to €5,000.

On 26 February 2023, a boat carrying migrants sank amidst harsh weather conditions while trying to land on the coast of Steccato di Cutro, near Crotone, Calabria. The boat was carrying between 143 and 200 migrants when it sank, of whom at least 86 died, including 12 children, becoming one of the deadliest naval disasters in recent years. Meloni expressed her "deep sorrow for the many human lives torn away by human traffickers", and condemned the "exchange" of migrants' lives for "the 'price' of a ticket paid by them in the false prospect for a safe voyage". On 1 March 2023, the new leader of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, as well as More Europe and Greens and Left Alliance asked for the resignation of interior minister Matteo Piantedosi.

In March 2023, Italy's Meloni government approved a draft bill banning the production and commercialisation of cultured meat for human and animal consumption; this move, which the government said was intended to protect food heritage.

In May 2023, the government had to face severe floods which affected Emilia-Romagna region, killing 17 people and displacing 50,000 others. The provisional cost of the damage caused by the floods amounts to more than Euro10 billion (US$11 billion). On 23 May, Italy's Council of Ministers officially announced the approval of the first law decree in response to the emergency, an estimated €2 billion recovery package that was aimed to public and private businesses, schools, universities, museums and farm workers, among other categories. On 25 May, Meloni and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, visited the flooded areas along with Bonaccini. Meloni underlined the strong spirit of the Romagnol people, stating: "Usually, when you lose everything, the prevailing feeling is anger, blame-seeking, or resignation. In Emilia-Romagna I found people shoveling mud with pride in their eyes, saying: all right, we have a problem, but we will solve it, we will rebuild." After weeks of tension within the government and between majority and opposition parties, on 27 June 2023 the Meloni cabinet officially appointed army corps general Francesco Paolo Figliuolo as Extraordinary Commissioner for the Reconstruction.

Italy became the first country to ban cultured meat in November 2023, when the government approved the bill.

On 23 January 2024, the bill about "differentiated autonomy" (which aims to give much more autonomy to Italian regions, for a maximum of 23 specific subjects) was approved in the Senate, and it was then approved by the Chamber on June 19. The law was criticised by the opposition and by various deputies and presidents of southern Italy (both from the majority and the opposition, such as Roberto Occhiuto of Forza Italia, president of Calabria, and Vincenzo De Luca of the PD, president of Campania), accusing the government of wanting to abandon the southern regions, favoring those of the Northern Italy, and on 20 July a collection of signatures began to call an abrogative referendum. On 12 August 2024, Meloni characterised as "surrealist" the court case initiated by the European Commission over the Italian government's social policy that favoured Italians over recent non-citizen immigrants. On 16 October 2024, The Senate voted 84-58 in favor of extending a ban on surrogacy to couples who go abroad to avail of the procedure.

In October 2025, Meloni became the third-longest serving prime minister in the history of the Italian Republic.

On 18 September 2024, the Chamber of Deputies approved the "Safety Bill" (a modified version of the "safety package" previously approved by the Council of Ministers on 16 November 2023), which covered many subjects: terrorism; scams; protection of law enforcement; banning cannabis (in any form, as well as hemp-containing products); imprisonment (2-7 years) for those who illegally occupy a property; increase in penalties in case of protest (including passive resistance to orders) in prison; the need for a residence permit (for non-EU immigrants) to buy a SIM card; possible imprisonment (1 month if alone, 6 months-2 years if with more people) for those implementing road or railway blockades (even as a protest).

Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi confirmed that the rule about blockades could be applied in some Strike action cases. The bill was heavily criticised by the oppositions, which labelled it as "liberticidal": in particular, the "anti-Salis rule" (named after Ilaria Salis, an AVS MEP accused of illegal occupation in 2008; however, there was only one identification while she was in the plant at that moment, as the ALER had never initiated investigations, nor criminal or civil cases, in 16 years) and the "anti-Gandhi rule" were criticised, the first one because it aggravated the situation of people who had no home to stay, the second one because it could also prevent peaceful protests (such as those historically led by Gandhi).

The government has also proposed, within the security bill, the expansion of the powers of the secret services (which could participate in and/or direct terrorist or subversive groups), and the obligation for universities and public research bodies to collaborate with the secret services (DIS, AISE, AISI), including communicating private information; both of these proposals have been harshly criticised: the first because in Italy the secret services, during the Years of Lead between 1960s and 1980s, were involved in illicit activities and massacres during the Strategy of Tension, and the second because it would represent an authoritarian turn on universities, with the risk of violating the privacy and communicating the political opinions of students, professors and researchers.

On 4 April 2025, the government approved a decree-law that almost entirely follows the previous security bill (apart from some changes), which had been sent back to the Chamber due to the lack of financial coverage and doubts raised by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, in order to speed up the approval process.

On 3 November 2023, Meloni officially presented the reform which provided the direct election of the prime minister by popular vote, the so-called premierato, and a new electoral law which gave 55% of parliamentary seats in both houses to the coalition that arrives first in the general election. Il Cdm approva il premierato. Meloni: "Madre di tutte le riforme, basta ribaltoni e governi tecnici" . la Repubblica Following new legislation in Italy passed by the Meloni government, only a child's biological parent can be named on their birth certificate.

On 7 November 2023, Meloni took part in her first international summit, the United Nations COP27 in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. During her speech, Meloni stated: "Italy remains strongly convinced of its commitment to decarbonisation in compliance with the Paris Agreement. We must diversify energy suppliers, in close collaboration with African countries." During the conference, the prime minister also had a bilateral meeting with the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. In the following week, Meloni participated in the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where she had her first bilateral meeting with the U.S. president Joe Biden on 15 November 2023.

In January 2023, Meloni visited Algeria, where she met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune with whom she signed a deal regarding gas supply to Italy. Thanks to this deal, Algeria will become Italy's largest gas supplier.

On 22 February 2023, Meloni visited Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss about the ongoing Russian invasion. Meloni also visited Bucha, in the suburbs of Kyiv, where the Russian forces Bucha massacre more than 400 Ukrainians in March 2022. Meloni stressed that Ukraine can count on Italy, adding, "we have been with Ukraine from the beginning and will be until the end." She was an ally of Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki and has praised Poland's support for Ukraine and Poland's acceptance of large numbers of Ukrainian refugees. On 2 March 2023, Meloni visited India, where she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu. During a press conference, Meloni praised Modi and his policies, describing him as the "most loved leader in the world". In March 2023, she hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rome. In April 2023, Meloni had an official visit in Ethiopia, where she met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In Addis Ababa, Meloni announced the so-called "Enrico Mattei Plan" by the Italian government regarding investments in the African continent. Cos'è il Piano Mattei di cui parla tanto Giorgia Meloni . Today Meloni in Etiopia: 'A ottobre presentiamo il piano Mattei per l'Africa' . ANSA Meloni was the first Western leader to visit Ethiopia since the end of the Tigray War. During the visit, she also had a bilateral meeting with the chair of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki. Visita del Presidente Meloni in Etiopia . www.governo.it In May 2023, Meloni attended the 49th G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. On 16 July, Prime Minister Meloni, along with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, travelled to Tunis in order to sign an agreement with President Kais Saied regarding the strengthening of the economic partnership between Europe and Tunisia, the European diplomatic support for the disbursement of the loan from IMF and, especially, the fight against irregular migration flows. Meloni, von der Leyen e Rutte in Tunisia . Governo Italiano She considered withdrawing from China's Belt and Road Initiative.

In July 2023, she had an official trip to the United States. On 27 July, Meloni visited the U.S. Capitol where she met with Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Later she met with U.S. president Joe Biden at the White House, where they discussed about many issues, including Ukraine, China, and Africa. They also talked about the strengthening of economic exchange between the two countries, trade relations between Europe and U.S., security policies and the forthcoming G7 Italian presidency. La Casa Bianca avvisa Meloni: "Sui diritti Lgbtq+ serve più attenzione". Lei sceglie di parlare a Fox, la tv pro-Trump . la Repubblica During the Gaza war, Meloni stated her support for "Israel's full right to defend itself in accordance with international law, and to live in peace". In October 2024, she condemned Israeli attacks on UNIFIL bases in Lebanon. On 28 April 2024, Meloni announced that she would run for a seat in the European Parliament in elections due to be held in June. In the election, her party remained the most voted in the country with 28.8% of votes, and Meloni became the most voted candidate in the election.

From 13 to 15 June, Meloni hosted the 50th G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Apulia. The topics discussed included the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza war, Climate change, China, migration, and the economy. Pope Francis became the first pope to address a G7 summit. Pope Francis becomes first pontiff to address a G7 summit, raising alarm about AI. The G7 responds. AP News

On 18 October 2024, Meloni traveled to Lebanon and assured the solidarity of Italy with Lebanon and UNIFIL in the current conflict. In a joint statement to the press with Lebanese acting prime minister Najib Mikati she concluded: "To conclude - you prime minister you know you can always count on Italy. We will do all that is in our power to return peace and prosperity to this friend nation." (original, she spoke in English)

On 19 December 2024, the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in Tehran and put in solitary confinement in Evin Prison. This became known only on 27 December. On 30 December, Iran's Ministry of Culture finally confirmed that they had arrested her for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic". Her arrest came three days after Italy arrested Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi at Milan Malpensa Airport at the request of the United States, which accused him, together with an accomplice arrested in the country, of conspiring to circumvent embargoes and supplying sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran. On 3 January 2025, Iran reportedly asked for a prisoner swap. On 8 January 2025, Meloni announced that Sala had been released by Iranian authorities and had left the country, landing at Rome Ciampino Airport on Wednesday afternoon, where she was welcomed by Meloni herself. On 12 January, Abedini was released back to Iran.

On 19 January 2025, the Libyan general Osama Elmasry Njeem, better known as Almasri, was arrested after the Juventus–Milan match near the Juventus Stadium, in Turin, and transported to the Vallette prison. Almasri was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of The Hague for war crimes. Subsequently, the court of appeal of Rome ordered his release on 21 January due to the irregularity of the arrest, which resulted from the lack of approval from the Ministry of Justice. Libero per un cavillo il carnefice libico, Al-Masri è già a Tripoli. Rai News After his release, the Libyan military officer was expelled and repatriated to Libya aboard a Falcon 900 aircraft of the Italian intelligence services. On 27 January, following a report filed with the Rome prosecutor's office by lawyer Luigi Li Gotti, the Tribunal of Ministers was involved to assess whether Prime Minister Meloni, Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, and Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Alfredo Mantovano should be investigated for aiding and abetting and embezzlement. Giorgia Meloni è indagata per favoreggiamento e peculato per il caso Almasri, insieme a Piantedosi, Nordio e Mantovano. Lei: "A testa alta e senza paura". Corriere della Sera In a video posted on social media, Meloni said: "Curiously, the ICC did so just when this person was about to enter Italian territory, after he had peacefully stayed in three other European states for twelve days." According to writer and journalist Roberto Saviano, the repatriation affair would have been completely buried without the intervention of some Italian media outlets focused on immigration and the Libyan mafia's control over illegal immigration, who were the first to report the news. Il caso. Un rebus l'arresto del torturatore libico. Scarcerato, è già a Tripoli. Avvenire

On April 17, after discussing with Ursula von der Leyen strategies on how to approach the meeting, she visited Washington, D.C. and met with U.S. president Donald Trump (who had recently imposed significant tariffs on almost all foreign imports); this visit constituted the first step towards trade talks between the EU and the US. Meloni received a warm welcome from Trump, who praised her conservative stances and accepted her invitation for a state visit in Italy.

In September 2025, Meloni faced large general strikes for her policies towards the Gaza war and in response to Israeli military attacks on the Global Sumud Flotilla. Meloni condemned the violence between demonstrators and police forces. She referred to the protesters as "hooligans", arguing that clashing with law enforcement and damaging public property would not contribute to supporting the Palestinian cause. Meloni's government took a pro-Israel position throughout the crisis, aligning with Israel and ruling out any recognition of the State of Palestine, unlike several other European countries that had endorsed such recognition during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Her stance drew criticism from opposition parties, which accused the government of isolating Italy diplomatically. Meloni refused to recognise the State of Palestine as long as Hamas remained in power in Gaza.

Meloni has been described as being close to Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary and leader of Fidesz, and Rishi Sunak, the former British prime minister and Conservatives leader. She has also been linked with the Vox political party in Spain, representatives of the Law and Justice party in Poland, and the Republican Party in the United States. Meloni has self-described her political party, Brothers of Italy (FdI), as a mainstream conservative party. She is in favour of presidentialism and supports changes to the Constitution of Italy.

In June 2024, Meloni criticised the EU ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 that would "condemn Europe to new strategic dependencies, such as China's electric vehicles". According to Meloni: "Reducing polluting emissions is the path we want to follow, but with common sense."

Meloni has opposed the , a hate speech law. She is opposed to the DDL Zan, an anti-homophobia law that would expand the Mancino law to cover LGBT discrimination, declaring in 2020 that "there is no homophobia" in Italy. She is also opposed to surrogacy, which is pejoratively known in Italian as utero in affitto ('uterus renting'), and she has pushed in Parliament for a law to make it a "universal crime"; her efforts have been endorsed by the Catholic Church and by Pope Francis himself. Meloni is supportive of the anti-gender movement, based on Catholic theology in the 1990s that condemns gender studies, and she is sceptical of what she calls "gender ideology"; she says it is being taught in schools, and that it attacks female identity and motherhood. She is supportive of changing the Constitution of Italy to make it illegal for same-sex couples to adopt children. In March 2018, she criticised The Walt Disney Company for the decision to represent a gay couple in the musical fantasy film Frozen II. On Facebook, she wrote: "Enough! We are sick of it! Take your hands off the children."

The possibility of Meloni becoming the first woman to become Prime Minister of Italy had been widely discussed both prior to and after the 2022 Italian general election. Some women did not see this as a victory due to her political positions, while others saw it at least partly in a positive light, and a few others called her a feminist despite Meloni's rejection of the label. Prior to the election, former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton commented: "The election of the first woman prime minister in a country always represents a break with the past, and that is certainly a good thing." This prompted a response from some critics and observers, including historians Ruth Ben-Ghiat and David Broder. Ben-Ghiat wrote: "Meloni would also represent continuity with Italy's darkest episode." For her part, Meloni declared herself ready to govern and criticised feminists. In August 2025, Mihail Neamțu wrote: "Unlike Thatcher's emphasis on economic freedoms, and unlike modern feminism's insistence on rights and recognition, Meloni grounds her conservatism in a deeper sense of duty ... a vision of womanhood that is not a repudiation of tradition, but its vindication." In November 2025, Meloni supported the passing of the law against femicide.

In 2018, she said that Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were protectors of Syrian Christians in the Syrian civil war. She condemned "another massacre of children in Gaza" during the 2014 Gaza War between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but later changed her stance and became a supporter of closer relations with Israel. However, unlike Matteo Salvini, she is opposed to moving the Italian embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, opposed the Rafah offensive during the ongoing Gaza war, and is supportive of a two-state solution. After the 2023 Israeli invasion of Gaza, she reversed her pro-Israel stance and imposed a full arms embargo on Israel.

Meloni has not apologised to African nations for wrongs committed during the Italian Empire, but is vocally critical of the legacy of the French colonial empire in Africa, arguing that France continues to exploit its former colonies through the CFA franc.