Grand commis

Who is Stefano Sannino, the former diplomat who advised centre-left leaders

Born in Portici, in the province of Naples, on Christmas Eve 1959, Sannino studied political science at the Federico II University, before entering the diplomatic service in 1986

2 December 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Italian ambassador and diplomat Stefano Sannino, together with former Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, is among the prominent names involved in the Belgian investigation for alleged fraud in the use of EU funds involving the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the College of Europe. Sannino, former secretary general of the EEAS, is now director general of the Directorate General of the European Commission for the Middle East and North Africa, and is one of thegrand commis of the European bureaucracy.

In Belgrade and Brussels, the first steps as a diplomat

Born in Portici, in the province of Naples, on Christmas Eve 1959, Sannino studied political science at the Federico II University, and then entered the diplomatic service in 1986, serving as deputy head of mission at the Italian Embassy in Belgrade (1994-96), before being seconded by the Italian government as head of state secretary for foreign affairs in the first Prodi government (1996-98).

From 1998 to 2001 Sannino was head of cabinet at the Ministry of International Trade under ministers Piero Fassino first and Enrico Letta later. He then returned to diplomacy in Belgrade as head of the OSCE mission in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2001-2002).

His first steps in the rooms that count at the European Commission in Brussels date back to 2002 as advisor for external relations and trade in the cabinet of the then president Romano Prodi, together with Sandro Gozi. His European career then continued with the post of director for crisis management and Commission representative to the Political and Security Committee (2004-2006), before following Prodi in his second term as Prime Minister, as the PM's diplomatic advisor from 2006 to 2008. He was a member of the European Commission's Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee

European assignments External Relations and Enlargement

Back in Brussels in 2008, he was Director for Relations with Latin America (2008-2009) and Deputy Director-General for External Relations in charge of Asia and Latin America (2009-2010). He then moved to the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement, where he was Deputy Director-General from 2010 to 2011 and Director-General from April 2011 to July 2013, when he left the post to become the Permanent Representative of Italy to the European Union, appointed by Premier Letta.

Italian Ambassador to Spain and the LGBT cause

Between 2016 and 2020, Sannino was appointed ambassador of Italy to Spain, where he received the Transexualia award for his support for the social inclusion of trans people in Spain, and the Lgbt Andalucía award for his efforts in the fight against homophobia. In 2018, Ambassador Sannino - openly homosexual and married to Catalan Santiago Mondragón Vial - raised the rainbow flag at the Italian Embassy in Madrid during the city's Gay Pride week, an episode that gave rise to several parliamentary questions in the Senate

The General Management of the EEAS

In February 2020, Josep Borrell, then EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, appointed him as Secretary-General (initially as Deputy) for Economic and Global Affairs of the European External Action Service (EEAS), replacing Helga Schmid, a post he held until the end of 2024.

Created by the Lisbon Treaty and operational since 2010, the European External Action Service is in practice the European 'foreign ministry': its headquarters are in Brussels, next to the famous Berlaymont, and it can count on a network of delegations covering practically every corner of the globe, making it the world's first truly multinational diplomacy. Pointing the way is the High Representative. Italy's Federica Mogherini held the helm from 2014 to 2019, while Sannino took over as Secretary General from 2021 to 2024.

The last assignment: Directorate General for the Mediterranean

In 2025, after leaving the EEAS, Sannino returned to work at the European Commission as acting Director General in the new Directorate General for the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA).

The new Directorate General was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the presentation of the College of Commissioners in September 2024. The political guidelines 2024-2029 and the letter of assignment to Commissioner Šuica indicate as the first initiative within this policy the adoption of the new Mediterranean Pact, which will also inspire the work of DG MENA.