Former topless model joins Berlusconi's cabinet as Italy's equalities minister

By NICK PISA

Last updated at 14:59 09 May 2008


From the catwalk to the cabinet: Mara Carfagna

It is not the sort of appointment Gordon Brown would make to his cabinet.

But then Mr Brown is no Silvio Berlusconi, playboy and man of ostentatious political gestures.

The Italian prime minister, long known for his fondness for pretty women, has named former topless model and beauty queen Mara Carfagna as equal opportunities minister in his new cabinet.

Miss Carfagna, 33, turned to politics after a career on TV following her sixth-place finish in the 1997 Miss Italy contest.

She has also posed topless and semi-naked for photoshoots but has always underlined her family values and stressed none of the pictures were "erotic".

Mr Berlusconi, 71, named her as one of four women ministers in his cabinet, which was officially installed yesterday.

The others are Stefania Prestigiacomo (environment), Maria Stella Gelmini (education) and Giorgia Meloni (youth).

At an awards dinner last year Mr Berlusconi told Miss Carfagna, who is single, that if he wasn't married he would "gladly marry" her.

His wife Veronica sent a letter to a national newspaper demanding he apologise for embarrassing her - which he duly did.

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Punk chic: Mara poses in 2003

Hot topic: Ms Carfagna came to Mr Berlusconi's eye after becoming Miss Italy in 1997

A law graduate from Salerno University, Miss Carfagna worked for Mediaset - Mr Berlusconi's TV company - where she appeared on several programmes before becoming an MP.

She has refused to talk of her modelling career but in an interview once said: "I am a bit of a prude and I found getting undressed in front of a camera not a pleasant experience."

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Silvio Berlusconi

Hard right: Silvio Berlusconi promised a crackdown on illegal immigrants, now he is backed by the xenophobic Northern League party

Glamourous: Mara Carfagna, a former beauty queen who posed topless, is now a minister

Speaking of her appearance in Miss Italy she said: "That competition makes you as a woman, it matures you.

"All that stress, that desire to win, it makes you understand who you are."

Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom party won a powerful mandate in last month's election.

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