Diodato Abagnara, an Italian general to head the Unifil mission in Lebanon starting tomorrow

His name is Diodato Abagnara and starting next Tuesday, June 24, he will be the new commander of UNIFIL, the United Nations mission created in 1978 and present on the southern border of Lebanon as an interposition force. Born in 1970, the general is the fifth Italian in history to hold this role, after Claudio Graziano, Paolo Serra, Luciano Portolano - current Chief of Defense Staff - and Stefano Del Col. Originally from Pagani, in the province of Salerno, Abagnara will take the place of Spanish Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz and will coordinate the work of almost 10,000 soldiers from 48 countries, including 1,000 from Italy. This is the second largest contingent after the Indonesian one.

The general has a long professional career behind him, with assignments in Italy and abroad. He was company commander in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo. In the latter operational theater he was also responsible for Cimic, the military structure that deals with cooperation with the civilian population. He recently held the role of commander and president of the Military Technical Committee for Lebanon. Previously he was also head of the Personnel Division and advisor to the Chief of Defense Staff at the Defense General Staff, commander of an infantry brigade and head of the Office for Officer Employment. From 2018 to 2019, he was also commander of the western sector of Unifil.

Abagnara also holds four degrees: Political Sciences in Turin, International and Diplomatic Sciences in Trieste, Management and Corporate Communication in Teramo and, finally, Strategic Sciences also in Turin. His CV also boasts six master's degrees, including Law, Cyber ​​Security, International Strategic Studies and Digital Leadership. In 2010 he was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit of the Army while, in the following years, he was appointed first as Knight then as Officer and finally as Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. In 2020 he was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit of the Army, while in 2021 he was Knight of the Military Order. Finally, also in 2020, Pope Francis awarded him the honor of Knight of the Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of San Silvestro Papa precisely for his commitment to the Unifil mission, where he led the peacekeepers of the Bersaglieri Garibaldi Brigade.