The Med-Or Foundation was created by leading aerospace, security and defence company Leonardo in the spring of 2021. The Foundation seeks to promote cultural initiatives, research and education in science, with the goal to strengthen links, exchanges and international relations between Italy and countries in the Med-Or area, which spans the Mediterranean, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, as well as the Near and Far East. Effective January 1, 2025, following a statutory amendment, it became Med-Or Italian Foundation, with Enel, Eni, Snam, Fincantieri, Poste Italiane and Ferrovie dello Stato joining as new ordinary members and Terna, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and MBDA Italia joining as adherent members.
The Med-Or Foundation is an innovative, global and collaborative initiative seeking to combine the skills and capabilities of industry and academia for the development of geo-economic and socio-cultural partnerships. The Foundation collaborates with experts and professionals with longstanding national and international experience in the institutional, industrial and academic fields.
Med-Or Italian Foundation’s work abides and is inspired by the principles of ethics and respect, competence and merit, innovation and excellence, internationality and multiculturalism, rights and sustainability.
Malta’s Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister (2020-2022); Malta’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion (2017-2020); Malta's Minister for Home Affairs and National Security (2014-2017)
Chairman of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies; Former Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to UK and USA; Former Director of Saudi Arabia General Intelligence Directorate
President and Founder of the Emirates Policy Center; Professor of Political Science at the United Arab Emirates University; Member of the Consultative Commission of the Gulf Cooperation Council
Director of Policy and Planning Department at the Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
IGAD Special Envoy for the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Somalia
European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship (2014-2019); Greece’s Minister for National Defence (2013-2014); Greece’s Minister for Foreign Affairs (2012-2013); Mayor of Athens (1995-2002)
Executive Director, Center for Dialogue, Research and Cooperation of Ethiopia
Advisor of the King of Bahrain for Diplomatic Affairs; Bahrain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (2005-2020)
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon
Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior (2013-2018); Germany’s Federal Minister of Defense (2011-2013)
Special Envoy of the United Nations for the Great Lakes Region (2014-2019); Special Representative of the United Nations for West Africa (2008-2014); Commissioner for Peace and Security at the African Union (2003-2008)
President of the Policy Center for the New South; Vice-President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
Principal Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Republic of Djibouti
Germany’s Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs (2017-2018); Germany’s Vice-chancellor (2013-2018)
Ambassador, Office of the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security
Chairman of GKSD Investment Holding Group; Chairman of GK Investment Holding Group; Vice President of the San Donato Hospital Group Italy
Senator of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Former Minister of Culture and Ambassador to the USA 2010-2016; President of PAM 2019-2020
Special Envoy of President Emmanuel Macron for the Mediterranean; Political scientist and Arabist
Special Envoy of the President of Somalia to Italy; Full Professor of Criminal Law at Università di Roma "Unicusano"
Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (2014-2015); Former Director General of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy
Former Prominent Israeli Government Official, serving as personal representative of Prime Minister Netanyahu in the negotiations for the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit
Advisor to the President of Niger
Policy Advisor to the President of the Republic of Zambia
United States Deputy Secretary of State (2007-2009); Director of National Intelligence (2005-2007); United States Ambassador to the United Nations (2001-2004); United States Deputy National Security Advisor (1987-1989); Professor at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia
President of University of Jordan; Former Minister of Health of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Former Mauritania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; Special Envoy of the United Nations for Somalia (2007-2010)
Deputy Director of the Presidential Communications of the Republic of Turkey
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain; Former Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank Group; Former Member of Spain’s Council of State (Consejo de Estado); Visiting Professor, Georgetown University
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry (2004-2011); Chairman of Maison Valentino S.p.A. and Balmain; Chief Executive Officer of Mayhoola for Investments LLC
Former Ambassador of Switzerland to China, France, Italy, Indonesia and ASEAN and Sri Lanka; Chief of cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1999–2002)
Former Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia (2002-2006, 2017-2020); Former Minister of Defense of North Macedonia (2017-2022); Former President of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (2006-2008)
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Former Foreign Secretary of India; Current G20 Chief Coordinator of Indian Ministry of External Affairs
Director of Morocco’s Archives Royales
Former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service of the UK government
Caterina Vancheri is the Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs.
Graduated in Law from La Sapienza University in Rome, she practiced as a lawyer until 2004, when she joined the Leonardo Group (at the time still known as Finmeccanica).
Over the years, she has held various positions in some of Leonardo Group’s companies as well as in Leonardo S.p.A., its Holding company, where she was appointed Vice President of the Legal Affairs Unit in 2012.
Following the corporate merger which led to the creation of the “One Company”, she became Head of the Litigation Unit of Leonardo S.p.A., a position she held until May 2021.
She has been a member of the Board of Directors of Selex Sistemi Integrati S.p.A, Ansaldo Breda S.p.A and is currently a board member of Telespazio S.p.A.
Andrea Manciulli is the Director of Institutional Relations.
A Modern History graduate from the University of Pisa, he studied at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris and is an expert in military history and international terrorism.
He was a member of Tuscany’s regional council from 2000 to 2013, then went on to become a Member of the Italian Parliament (2013-2018), and served as Vice-President of the Parliamentary Commission “Foreign and Community Affairs” and President of the Italian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. While serving in this position, he was appointed as President of the Special Mediterranean and Middle East Group (GSM) of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. While at the NATO Assembly, he curated reports on jihadist terrorism (2015-2017).
In 2015 he was the Italian Chamber of Deputies’ rapporteur for the Decree on “Urgent measures to counter terrorism” adopted by the Government on 18 February 2015 and converted into law on 17 April 2015. In January 2016, in this role, he also presented, together with Stefano Dambruoso, a bill on “Measures for the prevention of radicalization and jihadist extremism”. In 2016-2017 he was rapporteur of the Framework Law on International Missions.
From 2018 to 2020, he was Executive at Fincantieri S.p.A. and President of the Fincantieri Foundation.
From 2020 to 2021, he was Senior Vice President in the Strategy & Market Intelligence Office of Leonardo S.p.A.
He is the President of the think tank Europa Atlantica and the author of several publications on jihadist terrorism, national security, and international politics.
Massimo Khairallah is the Director of the International Relations.
He is a Senior Expert with more than 20 years' experience in public and cultural diplomacy in the Arab world.
An Italian citizen and native Arabic speaker, after spending a considerable amount of time teaching at the Universities of Venice and Padua, thanks to which he consolidated a vast network of connections in the Middle East, he moved to Rome to work as Senior Adviser at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates.
Letizia Colucci is the Director General of Med-Or Foundation.
She graduated in Law from Naples’ Federico II University, where she worked as a lawyer for some time.
She worked in the legal department of Alenia Spazio (now Thales Alenia Space Italia) and Alenia Difesa, where, while serving as Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager, she was involved in the setting up of the Alenia Marconi Systems joint venture.
Later, as General Affairs Director of the same company, she was entrusted with managing the due diligence and contributions aimed at setting up the MBDA missile joint venture.
In 2005, she was appointed General Affairs Director at Selex Sistemi Integrati, and, later, Deputy General Manager and then Joint General Manager.
Until May 2021, she was the Secretary General of Telespazio and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MBDA Italia. Furthermore, she is a member of the Board of Directors of Hensoldt, AVIO S.p.A., and e-GEOS.
Anna Maria Cossiga is the Deputy Director of the Analysis Office.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from La Sapienza University of Rome and a Doctorate in Culture and Territory from Tor Vergata University of Rome. With a background in history of religions and cultural anthropology, she has applied its methodologies for geopolitical analysis and international relations, with a focus on Israel, the Middle East and religious fundamentalisms.
She has taught Cultural Anthropology and Geopolitics at various universities and currently contributes to Limes magazine and is the author of numerous articles.
She has been a member of the Government Commission on the Study of Jihadist Radicalization in Italy and has acquired deep knowledge of the global jihadist phenomenon.
Enrico Casini is the Director of Communications.
Graduated in International Relations at the University of Siena, he is an expert in communication, strategic and political analysis, institutional relations, and event organization. During his career he has gained a wide experience in the institutional field, both at the national and international level. He has been Advisor to the Minister of Defense, and he has collaborated, among others, with the Regional Council of Tuscany, the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
From 2020 to 2021, he oversaw NATO-EU geo-strategic relations at the Strategy and Market Intelligence Office of Leonardo S.p.A. Since July 2021, he has become Head of Med-Or Foundation Communications. In his professional career he also produced publications and articles on magazines, blogs and journals on international terrorism, security and US-Europe relations. He is co- editor of “Il futuro del terrorismo di matrice jihadista” (published by Ledizioni), “Vent’anni di Guerra al terrore” (published by START Insight), and “La guerra tiepida. Il conflitto ucraino e il futuro dei rapporti tra Russia e Occidente” (published by Luiss University Press).
Umberto Tavolato is the Director of Special Projects.
He is a Senior Consultant with two-decade experience in diplomacy, advising top officials from the European Union, the Arab Gulf and Africa on foreign policy, regional security and geoeconomics.
His most recent experiences include serving as senior foreign policy expert for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE (2017-2020) and as political adviser on Africa and the Middle East to the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (2016-2017).
He has an extensive experience in working and living in Africa where he led the offices of the EU Special Representatives in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and to the African Union (2004 – 2016). A native Italian speaker, he is fluent in English and Kiswahili.
All Med-Or Italian Foundation Scientific Committee's components have joined on their personal capacity due to their scientific and international expertise
Director of International Affairs at the Italian Space Agency. Scientific Director of the Master in Space Institutions and Policies at SIOI, where she has been teaching International Space Policies and Relations since 2009.
Full Professor of Political Economics at the University of Milan and Distinguished Visiting Faculty at SciencesPo in Paris.
Full Professor of Business Organization at "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna and Dean of Bologna Business School; member of the Board of Trustees of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and of the Board of Directors of Ferrarelle spa.
Full Professor of Electrical and Electronic Measurements; former Rector of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio.
Full Professor of History of Political Institutions; Rector of LUMSA University.
Full Professor of Cardiology; former Rector of the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome
Director of Limes; journalist and political scientist, he taught Strategic Studies at LUISS Guido Carli.
Full Professor of Philology, Religions, and History of Iran.
Full Professor of Converters, electrical machines and drives; Rector of Polytechnic University of Bari.
Professor of Comparative Public Law at LUISS Guido Carli. Former Deputy Secretary General and Director of the General Secretariat's Office of the Presidency of the Republic.
Full Professor of Social and Intercultural Pedagogy; Rector of University of Roma Tre.
Associate Professor (national habilitation as Full Professor) of History of Islamic Countries at the University of Naples "L'Orientale".
Full Professor of Language Culture and Institutions of German-speaking countries, Director of the Department of Political Science of the University of Roma Tre.
Full Professor of Computer Science; Rector of the University of Salerno
Full Professor of Classical Chinese, Religions and Philosophy of China at the Department of Asian and North African Studies; Rector of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Full Professor of Industrial Bioengineering; Rector of the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome
Full Professor of Plant Pathology and Phytopathology; Rector of the University of Naples "Federico II".
Full Professor of International Relations; Prorector for Internationalization at LUISS Guido Carli
Associate Professor of Contemporary History of North Africa and the Middle East at "La Sapienza" University of Rome; Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Rafiki Hariri Center for the Middle East, at the Atlantic Council of Washington D.C.
Senior Fellow at Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council; Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Full Professor of Comparative Private Law and of the EU; Delegate to assist the Prorector for Internationalization in relations with international political and diplomatic institutions at University of Palermo.
Full Professor of History of International Relations at Roma Tre University.
Full Professor of Comparative Public Law; Rector of the University of Perugia.
Full Professor of Comparative Public Law at the University of Pisa and pro tempore scientific coordinator of the Area of Comparative Law of the Constitutional Court's Research Department.
Full Professor of Social Statistics; Rector of the University of Florence.
Full Professor in the disciplinary scientific field "Odontostomatologic diseases"; Rector of "La Sapienza" University of Rome.
Full Professor of Organization and Innovation; Former Rector of LUISS Guido Carli of Rome.
Full Professor of Geopolitics and History and Institutions of Asia and Director of the Center of Research on the Southern System and the Wider Mediterranean (CRiSSMA) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; President of the Italian Society of International History (SISI).
Rector of Politecnico di Milano; Full Professor of Mechanics of Machines.
Full Professor of Sociology of Political Phenomena and President of the Degree Course in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Tuscia; President of the International Sociological Association (ISA) Research Committee Sociotechnics - Sociological Practices RC26.
Full Professor of Comparative Public Law; Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Psycho-Social Dynamics at the University of International Studies of Rome (UNINT).
Full Professor of International Law at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio.
Full Professor of History of Islamic Countries; Rector of the University of Naples "L'Orientale".
Full Professor of Structural Mechanics; former Rector of "Alma Mater Studiorum" University of Bologna.
Full Professor of Machines and Systems for Energy and Environment; Rector of Università degli Studi della Tuscia.
Head of the Rome Office of European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
Full Professor of Comparative Public Law at Bocconi University of Milan.
Director of the Extremism Program of George Washington University; expert on Islamism in Europe and North America.
Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, Islamology, International Relations and Politics at "Ca' Foscari" University of Venice.
Domenico Marco Minniti is the Chairman of the Med-Or Italian Foundation.
Born in Reggio Calabria in 1956, he graduated in Philosophy from the University of Messina.
A politician with more than 20 years' experience in security and defence, in 1998 Marco Minniti was appointed Undersecretary to the Prime Minister under the 1st D'Alema administration; in 1999, Undersecretary to the Prime Minister, responsible for secret services, under the 2nd D'Alema administration; in 2000, Undersecretary for Defence under the Amato administration; and from 2006 to 2008, Deputy Minister of the Interior under the Prodi administration.
From 2013 to 2016, he was Undersecretary to the Prime Minister, responsible for secret services, first under the Letta administration and then under the Renzi administration.
From 2016 to 2018, he was Minister of the Interior under the Gentiloni administration.
From 2001 to 2021, he was a Member of Parliament of the Italian Republic (Chamber and Senate).
He is the author of Sicurezza è libertà. Terrorismo e immigrazione: contro la fabbrica della paura (Security is Freedom. Terrorism and immigration: the battle against the factory of fear, Rizzoli, 2018).
Letizia Colucci is the Director General of the Med-Or Italian Foundation.
She graduated in Law from Naples’ Federico II University, where she worked as a lawyer for some time.
She worked in the legal department of Alenia Spazio (now Thales Alenia Space Italia) and Alenia Difesa, where, while serving as Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager, she was involved in the setting up of the Alenia Marconi Systems joint venture.
Later, as General Affairs Director of the same company, she was entrusted with managing the due diligence and contributions aimed at setting up the MBDA missile joint venture.
In 2005, she was appointed General Affairs Director at Selex Sistemi Integrati, and, later, Deputy General Manager and then Joint General Manager.
Until May 2021, she was the Secretary General of Telespazio and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MBDA Italia. Furthermore, she is a member of the Board of Directors of Hensoldt, AVIO S.p.A., and e-GEOS.