Torquato Cardilli (born November 24, 1942) is an Italian diplomat. He was born in

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

, in the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

region of Italy.Torquato Cardilli entry
by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His father, Giuseppe Cardilli, was a renowned jeweller. Cardilli graduated with two degrees from the Istituto Universitario Orientale of Naples: first, in Oriental Culture and Languages, and then subsequently a second degree in political sciences. He was inspired to pursue a diplomatic career after a history professor gifted him the book "The Laughing Diplomat" by Daniele Varè . He joined the

Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ( or ''MAECI'') is the foreign ministry of the government of the Italian Republic. It is also known as the Farnesina as a metonym from its headquarters, the Palazzo della Farnesina ...

in 1967, at the age of 25. His first foreign posting was to

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, in 1969, where he was Second Secretary of the Italian Embassy. In 1972 he was appointed First Secretary to the Italian Embassy in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

where he was assigned to represent US interests after the rupture of diplomatic relations between the US and Syria. In October 1973, when the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

broke out, with Damascus under heavy bombardment from the Israeli Air Force, he escorted a convoy of Italian citizens safely across the border into

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. His subsequent postings were to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in 1974; to Tripoli,

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in 1979; to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 1982. In 1990, at age 48, he was appointed Ambassador to

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

, in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. His subsequent postings as Italian Ambassador were to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

in (1993-1997), the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

(2000-2003) and

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and the Republic of Sao Tomé and Principe (2005-2009). He retired in 2009 after a career spanning 42 years, of which 31 were spent abroad. In addition to Italian, he speaks and writes, Arabic, English, French and Spanish fluently. While studying Arabic in Jerusalem in 1964, Torquato Cardilli privately converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. However, this only became public nearly four decades later, during his tenure as Ambassador to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

when Saudi media initially erroneously reported Cardilli had just converted in Saudi Arabia. He is the father o
Darianna Cardilli
a documentary filmmaker.

References

* Howard Schneider
An Italian Envoy to Saudi Arabia, and to Islam

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

, December 17, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardilli, Torquato 1942 births Living people Converts to Islam Italian Sunni Muslims Ambassadors of Italy to Albania Ambassadors of Italy to Tanzania Ambassadors of Italy to The Comoros Ambassadors of Italy to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of Italy to Angola Ambassadors of Italy to São Tomé and Príncipe 20th-century Italian diplomats People from the Province of L'Aquila