Giacomo Simoncini, one of the two heads of state of the Republic of San Marino dubbed Captains Regent has been accused of sexual harassment by a secretary at the government building. Simoncini is 27 years old and the youngest head of state in the world in office: the allegations against him come a few days after the end of his sixmonth mandate as Captain Regent and have caused a major scandal in the small republic in Italy, border between EmiliaRomagna and brands.
News of the alleged harassment was published by San Marino daily L’Informazione on Monday and was subsequently picked up by other local newspapers. The episode dates back to early March and would have taken place in the Palazzo Pubblico, or government building, which houses San Marino’s main institutional facilities.
The secretary, whose name has not been released, claims Simoncini called her to his office on the pretext of helping him fix a broken zipper and later showed her his genitals. The woman then ran out of the office crying and went to her lawyers. The Single Court the body at the head of San Marino’s ordinary jurisdiction and other authorities, including the other Captain Regent, were immediately informed.
Simoncini, who graduated in Pharmacy from the University of Bologna and was elected with the centerleft Noi per la Repubblica list, has been with Francesco Mussoni, who is 50 and in his second is Captain Regent Term of office (San Marino law provides that multiple elections are possible, but you must not have held the office in the last three years).
Under San Marino law, the Captains Regent are always two, and together they exercise the functions of Head of State and Government of San Marino, which has a population of about 34,000. They are elected by the Grand and General Council or the Parliament of the Republic and remain in office for one semester. They represent the highest institutional office in the country, are appointed on April 1st and October 1st and bear the title “His Excellency”.
The Captains Regent of San Marino, Francesco Mussoni and Giacomo Simoncini, at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow on November 2 (Hannah McKay / Pool via AP)
San Marino’s Constitutional Law provides that the Captains Regent cannot be resigned except during the last 15 days of his mandate (which in this case expires on March 31). But according to the information obtained by ANSA, the secretary who accused Simoncini would have unofficially informed the San Marino judiciary that after the next 1 to avoid embarrassment to the highest institutional office of the Republic of San Marino “. In this way, Simoncini would only of convicted of a crime by the ordinary justice of San Marino and not by the special tribunal for institutional responsibilities known as the Regency Union.
Simoncini could not defend himself against the allegations at the moment. As stated by the State Congress or Executive Body of San Marino, the institutional rules impose “the duty of confidentiality on the Captains Regent in these cases […], which prohibits heads of state from expressing opinions and making statements of any kind during their term of office. The State Congress, quoted by the Giornale di San Marino, said that in any case all the necessary investigations would be carried out to clarify “possible responsibility”. […] in the right places and ways”.
As is understandable for a small country like San Marino, the allegations against Simoncini have caused a certain scandal, also because they come a few days after news of a dispute and alleged violence against his girlfriend by another San Marino politician.
Among the most critical positions towards Simoncini is the feminist group of the Union of Women of San Marino (Uds), which, among other things, had recently campaigned strongly for the referendum to legalize abortion, which was then adopted by a large majority last September. In a statement published on its website, the UDS says that “after decades of feminist struggles for gender equality and after multiple outreach activities against genderbased violence,” the sexual harassment allegations against Simoncini are “abuse of power” and “deviant acts,” which testify to the complete lack of respect for the woman’s body and person”.