Elisabetta Belloni, appointed first woman at the head of the secret services

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has appointed Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni Director General of the Department of Security Information, replacing the current Director General Gennaro Vecchione.

Draghi previously informed the president of the Parliamentary Commission for the Security of the Republic (Copasir), Raffaele Volpi, of his intention and thanked Vecchione for the work carried out to guarantee the security of the State and the institutions. The appointment is established after consultation with the Interministerial Security Committee of the Republic. For his part, Ambassador Ettore Sequi, currently head of Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio's cabinet, is the new Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, replacing Belloni (who was also the first woman to hold this position).

It is the first time that a woman has reached the pinnacle of intelligence.. In this case, the experience of Belloni weighed heavily, who has always been at the forefront of international emergencies. For years she was the head of the crisis unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since the mid-2000s she has managed the kidnappings of Italians in Iraq, working side by side with espionage and becoming a connection point for government action in the release of hostages, as well as a reference point for families.

Belloni, born in Rome and 62, also coordinated the first searches for the thousands of Italians who disappeared during the December 2004 Thailand tsunami.. Now the experienced ambassador will coordinate the two operational agencies of the Italian secret services.