Torquato Cardilli

Last updated June 06, 2023

Torquato Cardilli (born November 24, 1942) is an Italian diplomat. He was born in L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of Italy.^[1] His father, Giuseppe Cardilli, was a renowned jeweller. Cardilli graduated with two degrees from the Istituto Universitario Orientale of Naples: first, in Oriental Culture and Languages, and then subsequently a second degree in political sciences. He was inspired to pursue a diplomatic career after a history professor gifted him the book "The Laughing Diplomat" by Daniele Varè . He joined the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1967, at the age of 25, after passing an arduous entrance exam .^[2] His first foreign posting was to Khartoum, Sudan, in 1969, where he was Second Secretary of the Italian Embassy. In 1972 he was appointed First Secretary to the Italian Embassy in Damascus, Syria where he was assigned to represent US interests after the rupture of diplomatic relations between the US and Syria. In October 1973, when the Yom Kippur War broke out, with Damascus under heavy bombardment from the Israeli Air Force, he escorted a convoy of Italian citizens safely across the border into Lebanon.

His subsequent postings were to Baghdad, Iraq in 1974; to Tripoli, Libya in 1979; to The Hague, the Netherlands in 1982. In 1990, at age 48, he was appointed Ambassador to Tirana, in Albania. His subsequent postings as Italian Ambassador were to Tanzania and Comoros in (1993-1997), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2000-2003) and Angola and the Republic of Sao Tomé and Principe (2005-2009). He retired in 2009 after a career spanning 42 years, of which 31 were spent abroad. In addition to Italian, he speaks and writes, Arabic, English, French and Spanish fluently.

He is the father of Darianna Cardilli, a documentary filmmaker. While studying Arabic in Jerusalem in 1964 he converted to Islam. However, this only became public during his tenure as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia when Saudi media initially erroneously reported Cardilli would have just converted in Saudi Arabia.^[3]

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References

↑ Torquato Cardilli entry by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (in Italian)
↑ "Ministero degli Affari esteri, Stati di servizio del personale della Carriera diplomatica che ha cessato di far parte dell'Amministrazione dal 1 gennaio 2000 al 30 maggio 2014" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 7 December 2021.
↑ Jehl, Douglas (December 4, 2001). "Riyadh Journal; An Ambassador's Journey From Rome to Mecca". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 June 2014.

Howard Schneider, An Italian Envoy to Saudi Arabia, and to Islam, The Washington Post, December 17, 2001.

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[1] Torquato Cardilli entry by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (in Italian)

[MAE-2] "Ministero degli Affari esteri, Stati di servizio del personale della Carriera diplomatica che ha cessato di far parte dell'Amministrazione dal 1 gennaio 2000 al 30 maggio 2014" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 7 December 2021.

[RiyadhJournal-3] Jehl, Douglas (December 4, 2001). "Riyadh Journal; An Ambassador's Journey From Rome to Mecca". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 June 2014.

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