MASSIMO AMBROSETTI
Ambassador of Italy to the People’s Republic of China
Ambassador Massimo Ambrosetti began his mandate as Italian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China on May 16, 2023.
The Italian Head of Mission earned a degree in Law and one in International Political Sciences from the University of Padua (Italy). In March 1991 he entered the Italian Diplomatic Service and started his career at the Directorate-General for Economic Affairs – Asia Office – of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he first began to deal with China affairs.
As first assignment abroad, he served as Deputy Head of the Economic-Commercial Office at the Italian Embassy in Beijing, from 1994 to 1999.
From 1999 to 2002 he served at the Permanent Delegation of Italy to NATO in Brussels as the Permanent Representative’s Chief of Staff. In 2001 he was promoted to the rank of Counselor.
From 2002 to 2006 he worked in Rome at the Office for Relations with Parliament, within the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
From 2006 to 2010 he was posted to the Italian Embassy in Washington as First Counselor, where he analyzed, among other matters, the strategic relations between the United States and China.
His career path – which led him to deepen his knowledge on strategic and security affairs – was constantly enriched by his studies and research. In this regards, Ambassador Ambrosetti holds a MSt in International Relations at the University of Cambridge (Magdalene College), a MSt in International Human Right Law from the University of Oxford (New College). He then continued his studies and earned a Doctorate in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University and a PhD in International Politics from the University of Cambridge (Magdalene College). His research has focused on contemporary China and the impact of its rise as global power in the international system.
After serving in the United States, he returned to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked for a second term at the Office for Relations with Parliament in the Cabinet of the Minister. From March 2011 to 2013, he served at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In January 2012 he was promoted to the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary.
From 2013 to 2018 he was posted to the Italian Permanent Delegation to Northern Atlantic Council in Brussels, where he served as Deputy Permanent Representative.
In October 2018 he was appointed as Ambassador of Italy to Panama, also accredited to St. Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda. In March 2021 he was also accredited to Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as at the ASC (Association of Caribbean States), CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and CARIFORUM (Caribbean Forum).
After his mandate in Panama and the Eastern Caribbean Region, in April 2022 he was appointed as Director for International Strategic Affairs of the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency.
Ambassador Ambrosetti speaks English, French and Spanish. He is married, with two children.
In 2013 he was bestowed the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, class “Commander”, by the President of the Italian Republic.