World’s first gossip leader heads conservative San Marino – activist: Strong message to world’s minorities

In 2022, the world’s oldest republic, San Marino, made history again. A homosexual person was openly elected head of state in a microstate surrounded by Italy.

International headlines glowed when Paolo Rondelli broke the glass roof and took office as captain of the San Marino in April. The equivalent of a position in Finland would be the President of the Republic.

There have been a few openly homosexual prime ministers in Europe since the 21st century.

“Being out of the cabinet and still being elected head of state is a strong message of support and empowerment for sexual and gender minorities around the world,” says hlbt activist Marco Tonti Ylelle in a video interview.

He heads the Arcigay branch of Italy’s largest rainbow organization in the northern city of Rimini, right next to San Marino. San Marino does not have its own rainbow organization.

Paolo Rondelli is the second of two captains elected by the San Marino Parliament. They take turns running the country for half a year. The arrangement is said to reflect the consular system of the ancient Roman Republic.

Rondelli did not respond to ‘s request for an interview. The powers of the captains of the captains are strictly limited and representative, and they are not allowed to make any public statements while in office.

Marco Tonti says Rondell’s appointment did not face significant opposition in San Marino. According to him, it was Rondell’s openness to his life and sexuality that cut off the wings from malicious speech.

Shortly before his appointment, Rondelli addressed his critics on Facebook. He wrote that he had heard that there had been attempts to leak rumors about his private life to the scandal press. In the name of transparency, he published a picture of his membership card of the International Union of Naturists, stating that nudism is a way of life.

– The more interesting news is that I am likely to become the world’s first head of state in the hlbt community. And that’s how it’s broken, Rondelli wrote, apparently referring to the glass ceiling.

The revolution in sexuality and gender can only be seen to have begun in San Marino very recently. The firmly Catholic country has been well known for its conservative value policy – for example, divorce was not allowed by law until 1986.

In January, then-MP Rondelli said in an interview with news agency Reuters that “winds of change” were blowing in San Marino, undermining the country’s “conservative traditions”.

In San Marino, homosexuality was abolished from the Criminal Code in 2004. In 2019, the country banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and allowed registered civil unions of people of the same and opposite sex.

Rondelli told Reuters that same-sex marriage, for example, is unlikely to happen in the near future.

– The majority of MPs are from Catholic parties. Talking about Hlbt rights is not a priority for them, although most voted in favor of registering civil unions, Rondelli said.

Paolo Rondell has a long background as a rainbow activist. He played a key role in promoting anti-discrimination law change through a referendum. Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, he served as deputy director of the rainbow organization Arcigay Rimini. He has also served as U.S. Ambassador to San Marino, among others.

Marco Tonti, director of Arcigay Rimini, says citizens in San Marino are clearly more liberal than politicians on social issues.

Last fall, a referendum was held in the country on the right to abortion, supported by as many as 77 percent of voters. The turnout remained low, but despite a clear result, the new bill is still on Parliament’s table.

Tonti sees that civil rights have also become an increasingly geopolitical issue. He mentions Russia, Hungary and Poland as countries where the civil rights of sexual and gender minorities are being trampled upon. In the United States, the Supreme Court decided over the weekend to deprive people of their constitutional right to abortion.

– A border is emerging between liberal democracies that defend human rights and countries that oppose equality, Tonti says.

Although the progress of equality in the world or in Europe is not straightforward, Tonti sees hope in the situation in San Marino.

– Rondelli’s appointment is a great leap forward for San Marino, Italy and the West, where this is becoming part of ordinary life. The second and third homosexual heads of state in the world will then no longer be big news topics.