Giorgio Giacomelli

Giorgio Giacomelli
Giacomelli (left) with Argentine president Carlos Menem at the Casa Rosada, December 1996
Italian ambassador to Somalia
In office
12 June 1973 – 1976
Preceded byGiulio Terruzzi
Succeeded byMarcello Salimei
Italian ambassador to Syria
In office
25 September 1976 – 1980
Preceded byMaurizio Bucci
Succeeded byAldo Pugliese
Director General of UNRWA
In office
1985–1991
Preceded byOlof Rydbeck
Succeeded byİlter Türkmen
Executive Director of UNODC
In office
1991–1997
Preceded byMargaret Anstee
Succeeded byPino Arlacchi
UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories
In office
1999–2001
Preceded byHannu Halinen
Succeeded byJohn Dugard
Personal details
Born(1930-01-30)30 January 1930
Milan, Kingdom of Italy
Died8 February 2017(2017-02-08) (aged 87)
Rome, Italy
SpouseElisabetta Belloni
Alma mater

Giorgio Giacomelli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒordʒo dʒakoˈmɛlli]; 25 January 1930 – 8 February 2017)[1] was an Italian diplomat who represented Italy as ambassador to Somalia and Syria. He was UNRWA's Commissioner-General from 1985 to 1991 and UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories from 1999 to 2001.[2]

Biography

A native of Milan, Giacomelli studied at the University of Padua, the University of Cambridge and the Geneva Graduate Institute.[3]

He was the Italian ambassador to Somalia from 1973 to 1976 and ambassador to Syria from 1976 to 1980. In 1981 he became Director-General for Emigration and Social Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then, until October 1985, Director–General of the Department of Cooperation and Development. From 1985 to 1991 he was Commissioner-General of UNWRA.[2] Giacomelli left UNRWA when he was appointed by UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar to become head of the UN's anti-drug campaign and, contextually, the director of the United Nations Office at Vienna.[4]

Honors

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic 1st Class / Knight Grand Cross – 27 December 1993

Légion d'honneur – 1991

See also

References

  1. ^ "Falleció en Roma el ex vicesecretario general de la ONU, Giorgio Giacomelli". La Vanguardia. February 8, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Ambassador Giorgio Giacomelli" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  3. ^ "Giorgio Giacomelli". it.gariwo.net (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  4. ^ Benjamin N. Schiff, Refugees Unto the Third Generation: UN Aid to Palestinians, (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1995), p. 293.