On 24 July 2009 he was named Honorary Secretary of FINA for the 2009-2013 term.

Paolo Barelli was born in Rome is a former athlete of the Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro.

[2] Barelli broke 23 times the Italian record in several distances, including the 100m butterfly and relays.

[4] He was elected president of the Italian Swimming Federation in 2000; he is the first high-level swimmer to cover this position.

[7] Barelli entered politics with the Silvio Berlusconi's party Forza Italia, was elected to the Italian Senate in 2001[8] and reelected in 2006.