Antonella Cavallari

Antonella Cavallari was born in Rome in 1961. She graduated in Political Sciences from the University of Florence with a thesis in International Law. She began her diplomatic career through public examination in 1987, specializing in commercial affairs.

Antonella Cavallari is an accomplished Italian diplomat with over three decades of experience in international relations, with particular expertise in Latin America and economic diplomacy.

Her distinguished career includes serving as First Commercial Secretary at the Italian Embassy in Cairo (1991-1995), where she managed economic-commercial relations and cooperation, and as Head of the Consular Chancellery at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo (1996-1998), where she coordinated consular offices throughout Japan and cultivated strong relations with the diplomatic community. For her service in Japan, she was awarded the Order of the Precious Crown by the Japanese Government.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, she held key positions including responsibility for Italian citizens abroad issues, judicial cooperation, and community assistance (1998-2005). She notably organized Italy’s first overseas elections in 2006, achieving a remarkable 42% voter turnout. She also served as Chief of Staff to the Vice Minister and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs (2006-2009).

Ambassador Cavallari served as Italian Ambassador to Paraguay (2013-2016), where she significantly strengthened bilateral relations across political, economic, and cultural sectors. From 2016 to 2019, she was Deputy Director General for Globalization and Central Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, overseeing Italy’s relations with the entire region and participating in numerous high-level conferences.

Since February 2020, she has served as Secretary General of IILA (Organización Internacional Italo-Latino Americana), an international organization promoting cooperation between Italy and Latin American countries. Under her leadership, IILA has significantly expanded its cooperation projects, international visibility, and partnerships with leading Italian and international institutions. In February 2023, she was unanimously reappointed for a second three-year term by all member countries.

Throughout her career, Ambassador Cavallari has received numerous honors, including the Order of the Southern Cross of Brazil (Grand Cross), the Order of Merit of Argentina (Grand Officer), the Order of Bernardo O’Higgins of Chile (Grand Officer), the Order of San Carlos of Colombia (Grand Officer), and the Order of Merit of Paraguay (Grand Cross).

She is fluent in Italian, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, with basic knowledge of Arabic and Japanese.