Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni is the Secretary General of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2016. During her diplomatic career she has held positions in the Italian Embassies and Permanent Representations in Vienna and Bratislava, and in the Directorates General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 2004 and 2008 she headed the Crisis Unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2008 to 2013 she was the Director General of Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from January 2013 to June 2015 she was Director General for Resources and Innovation. Since June 2015 and before her appointment as Secretary General, she held the position of Head of Cabinet of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni.