Mr. Gianni Ghisi entered the Italian Foreign Service in 1974 and began his diplomatic career with the position of Head of the Vice Consulate in Locarno, Switzerland from 1979 to 1982. This was followed by an appointment as Counselor at the Italian Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria from 1982-1985.
Mr. Ghisi worked in different capacities at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He acted as the Head of the Secretariat of the Inspector General (1985-1988), and as Head of Office for Multilateral Cooperation from 1992 to 1995.
Mr. Ghisi also occupied in a number of senior diplomatic positions abroad. From 1989 to 1992 he was First Counselor at the Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna. For the next four years (1995-1999), he acted as Deputy Head of Mission at the Italian Embassy in Budapest. He then served as Consul General in Jerusalem and Head of the Mission to the Palestinian National Authority and to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Between 2004-2005, he was Coordinator for Africa and the Middle East at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome. He next served as Deputy Director General for Development Cooperation from 2005-2007. His most recent function in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was as Diplomatic Counselor to the Minister of Health (2007-2008).
Mr. Ghisi was elected as President of the IAEA General Conference in 2008. Currently, he holds the distinguished psition of Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Italy to the International Organizations in Vienna.
Mr. Ghisi holds a degree in Political Science from the Bologna University in Italy.