Renato Ruggiero (9 April 1930 – 4 August 2013) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

diplomat and politician. He was Director-General of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

from 1995 to 1999 and briefly served as

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 2001.

Biography

Born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

on 9 April 1930, Ruggiero graduated from Naples University in 1953 with a law degree, thereafter entering the foreign service. He subsequently held posts in private firms such as

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

and the energy firm

ENI Eni is an Italian oil and gas corporation. Eni or ENI may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Escuela Nacional de Inteligencia, the Argentine intelligence academy * Groupe des écoles nationales d’ingénieurs (Groupe ENI), a French engi ...

. After a brilliant business career, he became a top-ranking diplomat, and was involved in tough situations such as the Sigonella crisis in 1985. He was famous for his abilities as a strong-minded negotiator and thus earned the nickname of "Rocky" Ruggiero. At the time of his death in 2013, Ruggiero was an

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and was working for

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg Meeting (also known as the "Bilderberg Group", "Bilderberg Conference" or "Bilderberg Club") is an annual off-the-record forum established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally ...

Honors

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic 1st Class / Knight Grand Cross – 3 October 1985 Ruggiero was awarded the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

by the government of Japan.L'Harmattan web site (in French)
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References

1930 births 2013 deaths Ministers of foreign affairs of Italy Citigroup people Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group Permanent representatives of Italy to the European Union 20th-century diplomats Politicians from Naples Directors-general of the World Trade Organization University of Naples Federico II alumni Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Diplomats from Naples {{Italy-diplomat-stub

Biography

Honors

See also

References