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Published 13 May 2021
Italy has for the first time appointed a woman, career diplomat Elisabetta Belloni, to head the country’s secret service, Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced Wednesday.
Belloni, who has already been the first woman to hold key foreign ministry posts, will now lead Italy’s Security Intelligence Department (DIS), reporting directly to the cabinet, said the statement.
The DIS’s brief includes handling intelligence and security matters at home and abroad as well as counter-espionage and cybersecurity.
Belloni came to public prominence when she led the foreign ministry’s crisis unit between 2004 and 2008, taking responsibility for operations involving Italians injured or killed abroad, whether in attacks or natural disasters.