Overview
Stefano Manservisi is Special Advisor to Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, and Chair of GCERF (Global Community and Resilience Fund).
Born in Bologna on September 9,1954, he graduated in law at Bologna University and holds postgraduate diplomas in international law and in European union policies from Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne University.
He started his career as a lawyer in Bologna, and later joined the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade in Rome.
Stefano joined the European Commission in 1983,where he spent the longest part of his professional life. He enjoyed different roles within the administration, and as an advisor to several Italian Commissioners, dealing with all European policies.
Member of Cabinets of VP Filippo Pandolfi (Research, telecommunications); Raniero Vanni d'Archirafi (internal market, small enterprises, institutional affairs); Deputy Head of Cabinet to Mario Monti (single market, taxation, customs and, later, competition).
Head of Cabinet to President Romano Prodi, and later to HRVP Mogherini.
In these capacities, he contributed forging several milestones of the EU, from enlargement to the Euro currency, from institutional reforms to Agenda 2030/SDGs, and foreign policies files.
Director-General for Development and Relations with Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific States, he built a deep knowledge of the global south and of international relations.
As Director-General for Home Affairs, he dealt with migration and asylum management, Schengen, security and terrorist threats, contributing to set up and implement new EU instruments in this field.
As Director General for International Cooperation and Development, he managed multibillion budget instruments to support and to implement the EU International Cooperation and Partnership objectives.
Finally, Stefano served as EU Ambassador to Turkey.
After leaving the Commission, Stefano joined several Think Tanks, Foundations, and Civil Society Organisations as a senior advisor on EU and international relations. He also works with international organisations and UN agencies, like UNESCO, IDLO, UNTB, OECD, and Paris Peace Forum, on global issues like high education, international financial systems, multilateral governance, migration, social and environmental sustainability, and climate change. In his capacity of Chair of the Governing Board of GCERF, he is active in the field of preventing violent extremism and radicalisation in several countries in the world.
He teaches at Sciences Po/PSIA, at Parma's Collegio Europeo, and he's a visiting professor at the European University Institute.