Professor Marco Simoni is the new Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali

The Members’ Assembly of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), which met on 4 December 2025, elected Professor Marco Simoni as Director of the IAI. He succeeds Director Nathalie Tocci, whose term will expire in the spring of 2026.

A political economist with extensive experience in academia and management, Marco Simoni holds a degree in Political Science from the Sapienza University of Rome and a PhD in Political Economy from the London School of Economics (LSE), where he taught and conducted research until 2014. From 2014 to 2018, he was Advisor to the Italian Prime Minister on international economic and industrial policy issues. He was then the first President of Human Technopole, a new international research institute for life sciences that has enabled the development of a new innovation district in Milan. He is currently a professor at Luiss Guido Carli in Rome and a non-executive director in several companies.

“It is an honour and a great challenge for me to take over from Nathalie Tocci, one of our country's most prominent intellectuals,” said Prof. Simoni, addressing the Assembly after he was elected Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali.“It is also a great responsibility to carry forward an idea and an organisation founded by Altiero Spinelli, one of the fathers of our democracy.” Marco Simoni takes on “this position with great humility, aware that the IAI's role in contributing to the progress of European integration and sustainable growth through cooperation is now more relevant than ever.”

Simoni received congratulations from the Institute's Director, Nathalie Tocci, and the President, Ambassador Michele Valensise.

“I am very delighted with the Assembly’s vote,” said Director Nathalie Tocci. “I welcome Marco Simoni’s appointment to succeed me as Director at the end of my last term, and I look forward to working with Marco to ensure a smooth transition that guarantees continuity and synergy and propels the IAI into the future.”

Ambassador Michele Valensise said he was “very pleased” that "at the conclusion of a rigorous selection process, the Members' Assembly today approved the appointment of Prof. Marco Simoni as the new Director of the IAI. I offer him my heartfelt best wishes for his new position, confident that his considerable expertise and extensive experience will be valuable assets for the Institute and its future challenging research and action programs on international issues, which are now naturally the subject of growing attention not only from experts."