Franco Roccon

Franco Roccon (born 21 January 1960 in Belluno, Veneto)[1] is a Venetist politician.

Having joined Liga Veneta–Lega Nord in the early 1990s, Roccon was elected to the Regional Council of Veneto at the 1995 regional election.[2][3][4]

In October 1998 Roccon left Liga Veneta–Lega Nord and was a founding member of Liga Veneta Repubblica (LVR), along with Fabrizio Comencini and other four regional councillors.[5][6] In the 2000 regional election LVR failed to field a list in the province of Belluno and, thus, Roccon was not re-elected.

In May 2003 Roccon was elected mayor of Castellavazzo (Belluno) with 51.4% of the vote. In April 2008 he was re-elected by a landslide with 62.7% of the vote.[7] Having joined The People of Freedom,[8] he served as president of the provincial public utility until November 2011.[9][10] During his tenure as president of BIM–GPS he was often criticized by his former colleagues of the League, especially by Gianpaolo Bottacin, president of the Province.[11][12]

In late 2012 Roccon took part to some events organized by Venetian Independence.[13][14] On 5 April 2013, under Roccon's leadership, Castellavazzo was the first municipality of Veneto to approve a motion in support of a referendum on the independence of Veneto.[15][16][17] Since 2015 Roccon was involved with the LVR in Independence We Veneto, running in the 2015 regional election (4.3% in the province of Belluno)[18] and for mayor of Belluno in 2017 (3.4%).[19]

In March 2019 Roccon represented the LVR at the European Free Alliance's general assembly, during which a motion on Venetian autonomy was approved.[20]

In the 2020 Venetian regional election Roccon was an unsuccessful candidate for the Venetian Autonomy List, sponsored by both the LV and the LVR.