Roberta Pinotti was born on 20 May 1961 in Genoa, is married and has two daughters. She obtained a university degree in Humanities, taught in secondary schools and currently is a Senator for the Democratic Party.
She started her political career from the bottom, in the 90s, and accrued various experiences both within her party (following the evolution of the Italian Communist Party into the Democratic Party) and at local executive level, until she was assigned to particularly high and sensitive posts, up to then covered only by men, within the Defense sector.
After her political debut as councilor elected in the Sampierdarena district, Genoa, she combined her work for the party with her administrative tasks. From 1993 to 1997 she was provincial councilor for Education, Youth and Social Policies of the Province of Genoa, while from 1997 to 1999 she was Councilor for Educational Institutes of the Genoa City Council. During this period she continued her political militancy in the Democrats of the Left until in 1999 she became Councilor of the Province of Genoa, a position she held until 2011.
An early supporter of ''Ulivo'' party, Pinotti became a Member of the Chamber of Deputies in May 2001. She was elected again on the Ulivo list in April 2006, becoming President of the Defence Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, and the first woman in Italy filling this role. Within the Democratic Party, she was national chief for security, then shadow minister of Defence and finally chief of the party’s Defence Division. She was elected Senator in 2008 and Vice-Chairperson of the Senate Defence Commission in 2010.
In this capacity, she promoted a considerable number of parliamentary initiatives including the reform of the Military Criminal Code and the ban against cluster bombs. Also in this capacity she introduced various bills including a framework legislation on international missions and one on provisions in favor of military personnel exposed to asbestos.
In October 2008 she was awarded the Legion of Honor at the Embassy of France in Italy in recognition of her services in connection with the performance of her duties.
Ms Pinotti has an excellent command of the French language and she is fairly fluent in Spanish.