Lieutenant General (Ret.) Italian Army (Bat) Giorgio Battisti
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Italian Army (Bat) Giorgio Battisti
Giorgio Battisti is a retired Lieutenant General in the Italian Army after 44 years of military service.
Throughout his career General Battisti has held multiple command and staff positions in Italy and abroad. He took part in the UN mission to Somalia in 1993, and the NATO one to Bosnia in 1997. Furthermore, he deployed to Afghanistan four times, in 2001/02, 2003, 2007 and 2013/14. During his last tour of duty in Kabul General Battisti served as ISAF HQs Chief of Staff.
Gen. Battisti’s education includes a degree as well as a 2nd level Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the University of Turin (Italy).
He is Vice President of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (Sanremo-Italy), President of Military Commission of the Italian Atlantic Committee (Rome) and member and the Institute for Global Security and Defense Affairs (Abu Dhabi).
His operational deployments include the UN mission to Somalia in 1993 and Bosnia in 1997. In 2001, he was appointed as the first Commander of the Italian Contingent during the ISAF mission in Kabul. Lt.Gen. Battisti returned to Afghanistan three more times: in 2003, as Commander of the Italian mission “Nibbio”, within the framework of Operation Enduring Freedom and the ISAF Mission; in 2007, as Deputy Chief of Staff Support at ISAF HQs; and in 2013-14 as ISAF HQs Chief of Staff.
Throughout his career he has held several Staff appointments, ranging from Head of the Italian Army OPS Room to Chief Current Ops to Head of the General Affairs Department at the Army General Staff, and from Chief of Staff at the Italian Operational Land Forces HQ in Verona to the Italian Army Official Spokesperson in Rome.
Lt.Gen. Battisti’s education includes a degree as well as a 2nd level Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the University of Turin, the Command and Staff Course and Command and Staff Course General Course (War College).
He speaks French and English and is the author of various articles and books, including “Black feathers in Afghanistan” (2004) and “The Military History of Afghanistan” (2014).