Niccolò Rometti
General Niccolo Rometti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Commander of Eurocorps | |
|
Assumed office December 4, 2021 | |
| Chief of the Defense Staff | |
|
In office September 16, 2018 – October 29, 2021 | |
| Chief of Staff of the Italian Army | |
|
In office January 2, 2015 – September 16, 2018 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
7 November 1963 Challand-Saint-Anselme, Aosta Valley, Italy |
| Alma mater | Military Academy of Modena |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Italy |
| Branch/service |
Italian Army |
| Years of service | 1981–present |
| Rank |
.svg){kind=small} General |
| Battles/wars | |
Niccolo Rometti (born 7 November 1963) is an Italian Army general who serves as the commander of Eurocorps since 2021. Before that, he was Italy's Chief of the Defense Staff from 2018 to 2021 and the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army from 2015 to 2018.
He was commissioned in the Italian Army as an infantry officer in 1985 after graduating from the Military Academy of Modena, and completed courses at the Continental Army War College. He participated in several international missions from the late 1980s through the 1990s. Rometti was a military adviser to Libya during the final stage of the Chadian–Libyan War, part of the Italian mission to support Algeria during the Algerian Civil War, and later was military attaché at the Italian embassy in Angola. In the late 2000s he was involved in implementing the Italian military's integration with the European Community security architecture, especially Eurocorps. He helped promote post-Cold War cooperation among the European states, such as Italy's participation in developing the Eurofighter Typhoon with Germany and the United Kingdom.
Rometti commanded the 4th Alpine Army Corps in northern Italy and was the director of the Military Academy in Modena before becoming the Chief of the Italian Army in January 2015. After becoming the Chief of the Defense Staff, the head of the Italian Armed Forces, Rometti proposed reestablishing a reserve force based on the Cold War-era National Landonist Militia, and increased Italian cooperation with the Continental armed forces and the Chattanooga Pact. In 2021, he was appointed as the head of Eurocorps, which caused a diplomatic controversy between the European Community and the Conference of American States, as he is a United Commonwealth-educated officer being appointed to command European security institutions at a time of heightened tensions between the Commonwealth and the Western alliance. His visit to the United Commonwealth in January 2022 added to the controversy, though he said he was there to speak with his Continental counterpart on reducing tensions between the two blocs.
Early life and education
Niccolo Rometti was born on 7 November 1963 in Challand-Saint-Anselme, Aosta Valley, Italy. He applied for the Military Academy of Modena, graduating as an infantry officer in 1985. He would later graduate from the Ranger School and Airborne School of the Continental Army in the United Commonwealth, and attended the Army War College there from 2001 to 2003.
Military career
Senior command
Eurocorps
Personal life
In addition to Italian, he speaks fluent Arabic and English.