Minister of Foreign Affairs (Italy)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Italy. The office was one of the positions which Italy inherited from the Kingdom of Sardinia where it was the most ancient ministry of the government: this origin gives to the office a ceremonial primacy in the Italian cabinet.^[1]

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Ministro degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale
Incumbent Antonio Tajani since 22 October 2022
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Member of	Council of Ministers High Council of Defence
Seat	Palazzo della Farnesina
Appointer	The President of Italy
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	March 23, 1861; 163 years ago (1861-03-23)
First holder	Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour
Website	www.esteri.it

The current minister is Antonio Tajani, a member of Forza Italia, who is serving in the government of Giorgia Meloni since 22 October 2022.^[2]

Kingdom of Italy

Parties

• 1861–1912:
  •   Historical Right
  •   Historical Left
  •   Military
• 1912–1922:
  •   Liberal Union
  •   Radical Party
  •   Democratic Liberal Party
• 1922–1943:
  •   National Fascist Party
• 1943–1946:
  •   Labour Democratic Party
  •   Christian Democracy
  •   Independent
  •   Military

Coalitions

• 1861–1912:
  •   Rightist coalition
  •   Leftist coalition
  •   Mixed coalition
• 1912–1922:
  •   Liberal coalition
• 1922–1943:
  •   Fascist
• 1943–1946:
  •   Mixed coalition

Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office			Party		Government	Ref.
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
Minister of Foreign Affairs
	Camillo Benso Count of Cavour (1810–1861) As Prime Minister	23 March 1861	6 June 1861	75 days		Historical Right	Cavour IV	[3]
	Bettino Ricasoli (1809–1880) As Prime Minister	12 June 1861	3 March 1862	264 days		Historical Right	Ricasoli I	[4]
	Urbano Rattazzi (1808–1873) As Prime Minister	3 March 1862	31 March 1862	28 days		Historical Left	Rattazzi I	[5]
	Giacomo Durando (1807–1894)	31 March 1862	8 December 1862	252 days		Military		[5]
	Giuseppe Pasolini (1815–1876)	8 December 1862	24 March 1863	106 days		Historical Right	Farini
	Emilio Visconti Venosta (1829–1914)	24 March 1863	28 September 1864	1 year, 188 days		Historical Right	Minghetti I
	Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora (1804–1878) As Prime Minister	28 September 1864	20 June 1866	1 year, 265 days		Military	La Marmora II·III
	Bettino Ricasoli (1809–1880) As Prime Minister	20 June 1866	28 June 1866	8 days		Historical Right	Ricasoli II
	Emilio Visconti Venosta (1829–1914)	28 June 1866	10 April 1867	286 days		Historical Right
	Federico Pescetto (1817–1882)	10 April 1867	12 April 1867	2 days		Historical Right	Rattazzi II
	Pompeo Di Campello (1803–1884)	12 April 1867	27 October 1867	198 days		Historical Left
	Luigi Federico Menabrea (1809–1896) As Prime Minister	27 October 1867	14 December 1869	2 years, 48 days		Historical Right	Menabrea I·II·III
	Emilio Visconti Venosta (1829–1914)	14 December 1869	20 November 1876	6 years, 342 days		Historical Right	Lanza Minghetti II
	Luigi Amedeo Melegari (1805–1881)	20 November 1876	28 December 1877	1 year, 38 days		Historical Left	Depretis I
	Agostino Depretis (1813–1887) As Prime Minister	28 December 1877	24 March 1878	86 days		Historical Left	Depretis II
	Luigi Corti (1823–1888)	24 March 1878	24 October 1878	214 days		Historical Left	Cairoli I
	Benedetto Cairoli (1825–1889) As Prime Minister	24 October 1878	19 December 1878	56 days		Historical Left
	Agostino Depretis (1813–1887) As Prime Minister	19 December 1878	14 July 1879	207 days		Historical Left	Depretis III
	Benedetto Cairoli (1825–1889) As Prime Minister	14 July 1879	29 May 1881	1 year, 319 days		Historical Left	Cairoli II·III
	Pasquale Stanislao Mancini (1817–1888)	29 May 1881	29 June 1885	4 years, 31 days		Historical Left	Depretis IV·V·VI
	Agostino Depretis (1813–1887) As Prime Minister	29 June 1885	6 October 1885	99 days		Historical Left	Depretis VII
	Carlo Felice Nicolis, Count of Robilant (1826–1887)	6 October 1885	4 April 1887	1 year, 180 days		Military
	Agostino Depretis (1813–1887) As Prime Minister	4 April 1887	29 July 1887	116 days		Historical Left	Depretis VIII
	Francesco Crispi (1818–1901) As Prime Minister	29 July 1887	6 February 1891	3 years, 192 days		Historical Left	Crispi I·II
	Antonio Starabba di Rudinì (1839–1908) As Prime Minister	6 February 1891	15 May 1892	1 year, 99 days		Historical Right	Di Rudinì I
	Benedetto Brin (1833–1898)	15 May 1892	15 December 1893	1 year, 214 days		Military	Giolitti I
	Alberto Blanc (1835–1904)	15 December 1893	10 March 1896	2 years, 86 days		Historical Left	Crispi III·IV
	Onorato Caetani (1842–1917)	10 March 1896	11 July 1896	123 days		Historical Right	Di Rudinì II
	Emilio Visconti Venosta (1829–1914)	11 July 1896	1 June 1898	1 year, 325 days		Historical Right	Di Rudinì III·IV
	Raffaele Cappelli (1848–1921)	1 June 1898	29 June 1898	28 days		Historical Right	Di Rudinì V
	Felice Napoleone Canevaro (1838–1926)	29 June 1898	14 May 1899	319 days		Military	Pelloux I
	Emilio Visconti Venosta (1829–1914)	14 May 1899	15 February 1901	1 year, 277 days		Historical Right	Pelloux II Saracco
	Giulio Prinetti (1851–1908)	15 February 1901	9 February 1903	1 year, 359 days		Historical Right	Zanardelli
	Enrico Morin (1841–1910)	9 February 1903	3 September 1903	206 days		Military
	Tommaso Tittoni (1855–1931)	3 September 1903	27 March 1905	1 year, 205 days		Historical Right	Giolitti II Tittoni
	Alessandro Fortis (1842–1909) As Prime Minister	27 March 1905	24 December 1905	272 days		Historical Left	Fortis I
	Antonio Paternò Castello di San Giuliano (1852–1914)	24 December 1905	8 February 1906	46 days		Historical Right	Fortis II
	Francesco Guicciardini (1851–1915)	8 February 1906	29 May 1906	110 days		Historical Right	Sonnino I
	Tommaso Tittoni (1855–1931)	29 May 1906	10 December 1909	3 years, 195 days		Historical Right	Giolitti III
	Francesco Guicciardini (1851–1915)	11 December 1909	31 March 1910	110 days		Historical Right	Sonnino II
	Antonio Paternò Castello di San Giuliano (1852–1914)	31 March 1910	17 October 1914	4 years, 210 days		Historical Right / Liberal Union	Luzzatti
							Giolitti IV Salandra I
	Antonio Salandra (1853–1931) As Prime Minister	17 October 1914	31 October 1914	14 days		Liberal Union	Salandra I
	Sidney Sonnino (1847–1922)	31 October 1914	23 June 1919	4 years, 235 days		Liberal Union	Salandra III Boselli Orlando
	Tommaso Tittoni (1855–1931)	23 June 1919	26 June 1919	3 days		Liberal Union	Nitti I
	Francesco Nitti (1868–1953) As Prime Minister	26 June 1919	26 September 1919	92 days		Italian Radical Party
	Vittorio Scialoja (1856–1933)	26 September 1919	15 June 1920	263 days		Liberal Union	Nitti I·II
	Carlo Sforza (1872–1952)	15 June 1920	4 July 1921	1 year, 19 days		Democratic Liberal Party	Giolitti V
	Pietro Tomasi della Torretta (1873–1962)	4 July 1921	22 February 1922	233 days		Independent	Bonomi I
	Carlo Schanzer (1865–1953)	26 February 1922	31 October 1922	251 days		Democratic Liberal Party	Facta I·II
	Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) As Prime Minister	31 October 1922	12 September 1929	6 years, 316 days		National Fascist Party	Mussolini
	Dino Grandi (1895–1988)	12 September 1929	20 July 1932	2 years, 312 days		National Fascist Party
	Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) As Prime Minister	20 July 1932	9 June 1936	3 years, 325 days		National Fascist Party
	Galeazzo Ciano (1903–1944)	9 June 1936	6 February 1943	6 years, 242 days		National Fascist Party
	Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) As Prime Minister	6 February 1943	25 July 1943	169 days		National Fascist Party
	Raffaele Guariglia (1889–1970)	25 July 1943	11 February 1944	201 days		Independent	Badoglio I
	Pietro Badoglio (1871–1956) As Prime Minister	11 February 1944	18 June 1944	128 days		Military	Badoglio I·II
	Ivanoe Bonomi (1873–1951)	18 June 1944	10 December 1944	175 days		Labour Democratic Party	Bonomi II
	Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954)	12 December 1944	13 July 1946	1 year, 224 days		Christian Democracy	Bonomi III Parri De Gasperi I

Italian Republic

Parties

• 1946–1994:
  •   Christian Democracy
  •   Italian Socialist Party
  •   Italian Republican Party
  •   Italian Liberal Party
  •   Italian Democratic Socialist Party
  •   Independent
• 1994–present:
  •   Italian People's Party
  •   Forza Italia / The People of Freedom
  •   Italian Renewal
  •   Democrats of the Left / Democratic Party
  •   National Alliance
  •   Italian Radicals
  •   New Centre-Right / Popular Alternative
  •   Five Star Movement / Together for the Future
  •   Independent

Coalitions:

• 1946–1994:
  •   Centrist coalition
  •   Organic Centre-left
  •   Pentapartito / Quadripartito
  •   Mixed coalition
• 1994–present:
  •   Centre-right coalition
  •   Centre-left coalition
  •   Mixed coalition

Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office			Party		Government	Ref.
		Took office	Left office	Time in office
Minister of Foreign Affairs
	Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954) As Prime Minister	13 July 1946	18 October 1946	97 days		Christian Democracy	De Gasperi II
	Pietro Nenni (1891–1980)	18 October 1946	2 February 1947	107 days		Italian Socialist Party
	Carlo Sforza (1872–1952)	2 February 1947	26 July 1951	4 years, 174 days		Italian Republican Party	De Gasperi III
							De Gasperi IV·V·VI
	Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954) As Prime Minister	26 July 1951	17 August 1953	2 years, 22 days		Christian Democracy	De Gasperi VII·VIII
	Giuseppe Pella (1902–1981) As Prime Minister	17 August 1953	18 January 1954	154 days		Christian Democracy	Pella
	Attilio Piccioni (1892–1976)	18 January 1954	16 September 1954	241 days		Christian Democracy	Fanfani I Scelba
	Gaetano Martino (1900–1967)	16 September 1954	19 May 1957	2 years, 245 days		Italian Liberal Party	Scelba Segni I
	Giuseppe Pella (1902–1981)	19 May 1957	1 July 1958	1 year, 43 days		Christian Democracy	Zoli
	Amintore Fanfani (1908–1999) As Prime Minister	1 July 1958	16 February 1959	230 days		Christian Democracy	Fanfani II
	Giuseppe Pella (1902–1981)	16 February 1959	25 March 1960	1 year, 38 days		Christian Democracy	Segni II
	Antonio Segni (1891–1972)	25 March 1960	7 May 1962	2 years, 43 days		Christian Democracy	Tambroni Fanfani III·IV
	Amintore Fanfani (1908–1999) As Prime Minister	7 May 1962	29 May 1962	22 days		Christian Democracy	Fanfani IV
	Attilio Piccioni (1892–1976)	29 May 1962	4 December 1963	1 year, 189 days		Christian Democracy	Fanfani IV Leone I
	Giuseppe Saragat (1898–1988)	4 December 1963	28 December 1964	1 year, 24 days		Italian Democratic Socialist Party	Moro I·II
	Aldo Moro (1916–1978) As Prime Minister	28 December 1964	5 March 1965	67 days		Christian Democracy	Moro II
	Amintore Fanfani (1908–1999)	5 March 1965	30 December 1965	300 days		Christian Democracy
	Aldo Moro (1916–1978) As Prime Minister	30 December 1965	23 February 1966	55 days		Christian Democracy
	Amintore Fanfani (1908–1999)	23 February 1966	24 June 1968	2 years, 122 days		Christian Democracy	Moro III
	Giuseppe Medici (1907–2000)	24 June 1968	12 December 1968	171 days		Christian Democracy	Leone II
	Pietro Nenni (1891–1980)	12 December 1968	5 August 1969	236 days		Italian Socialist Party	Rumor I
	Aldo Moro (1916–1978)	5 August 1969	26 June 1972	2 years, 326 days		Christian Democracy	Rumor II
							Rumor III Colombo
							Andreotti I
	Giuseppe Medici (1907–2000)	26 July 1972	7 July 1973	346 days		Christian Democracy	Andreotti II
	Aldo Moro (1916–1978)	7 July 1973	23 November 1974	1 year, 139 days		Christian Democracy	Rumor IV·V
	Mariano Rumor (1915–1990)	23 November 1974	29 July 1976	1 year, 249 days		Christian Democracy	Moro IV·V
	Arnaldo Forlani (1925–2023)	29 July 1976	4 August 1979	3 years, 6 days		Christian Democracy	Andreotti III·IV·V
	Franco Maria Malfatti (1927–1991)	4 August 1979	15 January 1980	195 days		Christian Democracy	Cossiga I
	Attilio Ruffini (1925–2011)	15 January 1980	4 April 1980	80 days		Christian Democracy
	Emilio Colombo (1920–2013)	4 April 1980	4 August 1983	3 years, 122 days		Christian Democracy	Cossiga II Forlani
							Spadolini I·II Fanfani V
	Giulio Andreotti (1919–2013)	4 August 1983	22 July 1989	5 years, 352 days		Christian Democracy	Craxi I·II
							Fanfani VI
							Goria De Mita
	Gianni De Michelis (1940–2019)	22 July 1989	28 June 1992	2 years, 342 days		Italian Socialist Party	Andreotti VI·VII
	Vincenzo Scotti (1933– )	28 June 1992	29 July 1992	31 days		Christian Democracy	Amato I
	Giuliano Amato (1938– ) As Prime Minister	29 July 1992	1 August 1992	3 days		Italian Socialist Party
	Emilio Colombo (1920–2013)	1 August 1992	28 April 1993	270 days		Christian Democracy
	Beniamino Andreatta (1928–2007)	28 April 1993	19 April 1994	356 days		Christian Democracy / Italian People's Party	Ciampi
	Leopoldo Elia (1925–2008)	19 April 1994	10 May 1994	22 days		Italian People's Party
	Antonio Martino (1942–2022)	10 May 1994	17 January 1995	252 days		Forza Italia	Berlusconi I
	Susanna Agnelli (1922–2009)	17 January 1995	17 May 1996	1 year, 121 days		Independent	Dini
	Lamberto Dini (1931– )	17 May 1996	6 June 2001	5 years, 20 days		Italian Renewal	Prodi I D'Alema I·II Amato II
	Giuliano Amato (1938– ) As Prime Minister	6 June 2001	11 June 2001	5 days		Independent	Amato II
	Renato Ruggiero (1930–2013)	11 June 2001	6 January 2002	209 days		Independent	Berlusconi II
	Silvio Berlusconi (1936–2023) As Prime Minister	6 January 2002	14 June 2002	159 days		Forza Italia
	Franco Frattini (1957–2022)	14 June 2002	18 November 2004	2 years, 157 days		Forza Italia
	Gianfranco Fini (1952– )	18 November 2004	17 May 2006	1 year, 180 days		National Alliance	Berlusconi II·III
	Massimo D'Alema (1949– )	17 May 2006	8 May 2008	1 year, 357 days		Democrats of the Left / Democratic Party	Prodi II
	Franco Frattini (1957–2022)	8 May 2008	16 November 2011	3 years, 192 days		The People of Freedom	Berlusconi IV
	Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata (1946– )	16 November 2011	27 March 2013	1 year, 131 days		Independent	Monti
	Mario Monti (1943– ) As Prime Minister	27 March 2013	28 April 2013	32 days		Independent
	Emma Bonino (1948– )	28 April 2013	22 February 2014	300 days		Italian Radicals	Letta
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
	Federica Mogherini (1973– )	22 February 2014	31 October 2014	251 days		Democratic Party	Renzi
	Paolo Gentiloni (1954– )	31 October 2014	12 December 2016	2 years, 42 days		Democratic Party
	Angelino Alfano (1970– )	12 December 2016	1 June 2018	1 year, 171 days		New Centre-Right / Popular Alternative	Gentiloni
	Enzo Moavero Milanesi (1954– )	1 June 2018	5 September 2019	1 year, 96 days		Independent	Conte I
	Luigi Di Maio (1986– )	5 September 2019	22 October 2022	3 years, 47 days		Five Star Movement / Together for the Future	Conte II Draghi
	Antonio Tajani (1953– )	22 October 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 63 days		Forza Italia	Meloni

Timeline

Kingdom of Italy

Italian Republic

References

1. "Ministero degli Affari Esteri – Il Ministro". Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
2. "Governo Meloni". governo.it (in Italian). 22 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
3. "IV Governo Cavour". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
4. "I Governo Ricasoli". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
5. "I Governo Rattazzi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.

See also

• Affari Esteri
• Foreign policy