Editing Romano Prodi (section)

==After the premiership (2008–present)==
[[File:Romano Prodi 2024 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Prodi in 2024]]
On 19 March 2008, during the political campaign for the snap general election, Romano Prodi stated "I called it a day with Italian politics and maybe with politics in general."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ansa.it/opencms/export/site/visualizza_fdg.html_18938668.html|title=Prodi, lascio la politica ma il mondo è pieno di occasioni|author=ANSA|access-date=3 September 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080330070541/http://www.ansa.it/opencms/export/site/visualizza_fdg.html_18938668.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 30 March 2008}}</ref>

On 12 September 2008, Prodi was named by the UN as head of a joint [[African Union|AU]]-UN panel aimed at enhancing peacekeeping operations in Africa.<ref>[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12513725.htm Thomson Reuters Foundation | News, Information and Connections for Action]. Alertnet.org. Retrieved on 24 August 2013.</ref>

On 6 February 2009, he was appointed Professor-at-Large at the [[Watson Institute for International Studies]] of [[Brown University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2009/02/prodi|title=Former Italian Prime Minister Appointed Professor-at-Large| date=6 February 2009|publisher=Brown University|access-date=29 June 2010}}</ref> Since 2010 Romano Prodi is the chair for Sino-European dialogue at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS – Shanghai&Beijing), China's leading business school.

On 9 October 2012, Romano Prodi was appointed by the [[UN Secretary-General]] [[Ban Ki-moon]] as his Special Envoy for the Sahel. He served in that position until 31 January 2014.<ref>[https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/sga1377.doc.htm Secretary-General Appoints Romano Prodi of Italy as Special Envoy for Sahel]. Un.org. Retrieved on 24 August 2013.</ref>

Prodi is also a member of the Club de Madrid, an international organization of former democratic statesmen, which works to strengthen democratic governance and leadership.<ref name=cm>{{cite web|title=Prodi, Romano|url=http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/romano_prodi|publisher=Club de Madrid|access-date=22 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626144600/http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/romano_prodi|archive-date=26 June 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the [[Bilderberg Group]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html |title=Former Steering Committee Members |work=bilderbergmeetings.org |publisher=[[Bilderberg Group]] |access-date=8 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095633/http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/former-steering-committee-members.html |archive-date=2 February 2014}}</ref>

===2013 presidential candidate===
Prodi was drafted by [[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]] parliamentarians to be [[President of Italy]] during the [[2013 Italian presidential election|2013 presidential election]] after Democratic Party–[[The People of Freedom|People of Freedom]] compromise candidate [[Franco Marini]] failed to receive sufficient votes on the first ballot.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} During the first three rounds of voting, few people cast ballots for Prodi (14 on the first ballot, 13 on the second and 22 on the third).{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

On 16 April 2013, just a few days prior to the fourth ballot, Prodi gave a ''lectio magistralis'' at the [[Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas|Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'']] entitled "I grandi cambiamenti della politica e dell'economia mondiale: c'è un posto per l'Europa?" ("The Great Changes in Politics and the World Economy: Is there Room for Europe?). Prodi was sponsored by the ''Angelicum'' and the Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi<ref>[[:it:Università degli Studi "Guglielmo Marconi"]] Accessed 17, 2013</ref> on behalf of the Political Science program "Scienze Politiche e del Buon Governo."<ref>[http://angelicumnewsletterblog.blogspot.com/ Angelicum Newsletter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321072053/http://angelicumnewsletterblog.blogspot.com/|date=21 March 2015}}  Accessed 17 April</ref>

A few days later, on 19 April, starting on the fourth ballot, Prodi was looked at seriously as a possible candidate. However, Prodi announced he was pulling out of the presidential race after more than 100 centre-left electors did not vote for him as he received only 395 (of 504 votes needed to be elected). After this vote, [[Pier Luigi Bersani]], leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, announced his resignation as the party's secretary.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-vote-idUSBRE93I08I20130419 Italy centre-left leader Bersani quits after vote debacle] ''Reuters.'' 19 April 2013. Accessed 20 April 2013</ref> As of September 2020, he is a member of the Italian [[Aspen Institute]].<ref>[https://www.aspeninstitute.it/istituto/comunita-aspen/comitato-esecutivo executive Committee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009043826/https://www.aspeninstitute.it/istituto/comunita-aspen/comitato-esecutivo |date=9 October 2010 }}, aspeninstitute.it/</ref>