Barbara Spinelli

Barbara Spinelli
Member of the European Parliament
In office 1 July 2014 – 2 July 2019
Constituency	Central Italy
Personal details
Born	(1946-05-31)31 May 1946 Rome, Italy
Died	7 October 2026(2026-10-07) (aged 80) Rome, Italy
Party	Independent
Other political affiliations	The Other Europe (2014-2015)
Domestic partner(s)	Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa (until his death; 2010)
Parent(s)	Ursula Hirschmann (mother) Altiero Spinelli (father)
Education	Sapienza University of Rome
Occupation	Journalist

Barbara Spinelli (31 May 1946 – 7 October 2026) was an Italian politician. From 2014 to 2019, Spinelli served as a Member of the European Parliament, representing Central Italy.

Life and career

Barbara Spinelli was born on 31 May 1946, the daughter of federalist political theorist Altiero Spinelli and Ursula Hirschmann, who was a German Jewish anti-fascist activist. She had three older maternal half-sisters from her mother's first marriage to Eugenio Colorni and two sisters. Her half-sister Eva Colorni, an economist, was married to a fellow Indian economist Amartya Sen from 1973 until her death in 1985. Another half-sister is a translator.^{[citation needed]}

She was elected to represent The Other Europe, but left the alliance in May 2015, after declaring it a "failed project". She was one of the founders of the newspaper La Repubblica.

Spinelli was a member of the Advisory Panel of DiEM25. She was also Vice-chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

Spinelli died on 7 October 2026, at the age of 80.

References