Romano Prodi is an Italian politician who served as Italian Prime Minister twice from 1996 to 1998 and from 2006 to 2008. He also served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. Currently serving as the United Nations Special Envoy for the Sahel region, visiting professor at Harvard and Stanford University research institutes, professor at the China Europe International Business School, and member of the Madrid Club. In addition, Prodi has a long academic career and is recognized as an economic expert in Western countries. Prodi's academic career began in the Department of Political Science at the University of Bologna, where he served as an assistant professor in 1963 and an associate professor in 1966, as well as a full-time professor in Industrial Organization and Industrial Policy from 1971 to 1999. The two topics he first proposed later became two standard topics in industrial economics - the development and competition policy of small and medium-sized enterprises and industrial zones. In the international academic community, he is hailed as the founder of the Italian Industrial Economics School. Prodi's research has further expanded to various fields such as the relationship between the state and the market, privatization policies, the crucial role of schools in promoting economic development and social solidarity, the process of European integration, and the dynamics of different capitalist models after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Prodi served as the Minister of Industry of Italy from November 1978 to March 1979. From November 1982 to October 1989, he served as the chairman of IRI, the largest holding company in Italy at that time. Under his leadership, IRI implemented a series of fundamental reform and recovery measures, fully preparing for the privatization of its subsidiaries. In May 1993, Prodi was re elected as the Chairman of IRI. During his tenure, he completed the privatization process of several major companies under the group, including Credit Italia and Commercial Bank of Italy. In February 1995, Prodi formed the Olive Tree Alliance. In April 1996, he was elected as a candidate for Prime Minister by the coalition and was successfully elected as Prime Minister of Italy in the general election. In 1996, the Italian President invited Prodi to reorganize the government. In May of the same year, the Prodi government came to power. During his tenure as Prime Minister, Prodi cut public spending with the aim of getting Italy on the first bus of the euro and making Italy one of the first member states of the eurozone. In March 1999, Prodi served as the President of the European Commission. During his five-year tenure, the EU implemented several historic and important decisions, including implementing the euro, increasing the number of member states to 25, and implementing neighboring country policies. In 2005, Prodi was elected as the chairman of the Central Left Party Alliance and won 75% of the vote in the primary election for the Prime Minister of the Central Left Alliance in October of the same year. In April 2006, Prodi led the Central Left Alliance to win the Italian election, and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano invited him to form a new government. From May 17, 2006 to May 8, 2008, Prodi was appointed as the 59th Prime Minister of Italy's government and also served as the Minister of Justice in 2008. Afterwards, Prodi became the Chairman of the Global Cooperation Foundation. In July 2008,