Elisabetta Belloni (; born 1 September 1958) is an Italian diplomat and civil servant, Director of the Department of Information for Security from 2021 to 2025.

Biography

Graduated in Political Science at

Luiss University Luiss University () is a private university located in Rome, Italy, founded in 1974 by a group of entrepreneurs led by Umberto Agnelli. It provides undergraduate and postgraduate education, in addition to a range of Double Degree programs, in t ...

in 1982 with a thesis on international negotiation techniques, Belloni embarked on a diplomatic career in 1985. She has held positions in Italian embassies and representations permanent offices in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, as well as in the Directorates General of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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 particular, from 1993 to 1996 she was First Secretary of the Italian diplomatic representation to international organizations. After returning to Rome, she worked briefly in the Russia Office before being promoted in 2000 to the secretariat of the Directorate for European Countries. In 2001 she was appointed Head of the Office for Central and Eastern European Countries and finally, since 2002, Head of the Secretariat of the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs Roberto Antonione. From November 2004 to June 2008, she directed the Crisis Unit of the

. She was Director-General of Development Cooperation from 2008 to 2013, while from January 2013 to June 2015 she was Director-General for Resources and Innovation. In February 2014, she was promoted to rank ambassador; since June 2015, she has held the position of Chief of Staff of the

Minister of Foreign Affairs 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 foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...

. Following the resignation from the diplomatic career of Ambassador Michele Valensise, then Secretary-General of the

Farnesina Farnesina may refer to: Architecture * Casa della Farnesina, an historic building of the ancient Rome, in the neighborhood of Trastevere, Rome * Palazzo della Farnesina, the headquarters of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government of the ...

, in April 2016 she was appointed Secretary-General of the

and took office on 5 May. She has been professor of Development Cooperation at the Luiss Guido Carli. In May 2018, her name was presented by the press, together with the economist

Lucrezia Reichlin Lucrezia Reichlin (born 14 August 1954) is an Italian economist who has been a professor at London Business School since 2008. As of early 2025, she was also a non-resident fellow at Bruegel. Reichlin's research focuses on forecasting, busines ...

, as a possible candidate to receive the mandate of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the 18th legislature. She left the Ministry on 12 May 2021, being appointed by

Mario Draghi Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, banker, statesman, and civil servant, who served as the prime minister of Italy from 13 February 2021 to 22 October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime mi ...

as Director of the Department of Information for Security.

Honours

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic 1st Class / Knight Grand Cross – 1 June 2017

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Belloni, Elisabetta 1958 births Living people Diplomats from Rome 20th-century Italian diplomats 21st-century Italian diplomats Italian women ambassadors Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli alumni