By Sami Zaptia.
London, 13 December 2018:
Italy yesterday reappointed Giuseppe Maria Buccino Grimaldi as its new ambassador in Tripoli.
He replaces Giuseppe Perrone who was recalled to Rome in August officially for reasons of personal security.
However, it will be recalled that in August, Libya’s parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), had called for Perrone’s resignation and replacement and declared him “persona non grata”.
The HoR had accused Perrone of interfering in Libya’s internal affairs by calling for the postponement of the proposed December 2018 elections.
There were also rumours that Perrone was also recalled for “personal reasons” or for falling out with the new right-of-centre Italian government.
Buccino Grimaldi had held the Tripoli post from 2011 to 2015 when the Italian embassy, following all the other embassies, was evacuated for security reasons.
Born in Naples in 1961, Buccino Grimaldi began his diplomatic career in 1988 at the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 1991 to 1994 he worked at the Italian embassy in Beirut and from 1 December 1994 he served as the permanent representation of Italy to the European Union in Brussels.
After his Tripoli post Buccino Grimaldi served as Director General for the European Union in the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
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