Ruggiero Capodivento

Italian Carabinieri General (born 1963)

Ruggiero Capodivento
Birth nameRuggiero Capodivento
Born (1963-07-24) 24 July 1963 (age 60)
Fabriano, Italy
Allegiance Italy
 NATO
Service/branchCarabinieri
Years of service1983–present
RankBrigadier general
UnitCarabinieri Legion "Toscana"
Commands heldMultinational Specialized Unit 2019 and 2023; MIADIT 16 (Djibouti), 2022.
EngagementsStabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Operation Joint Guardian; Operation Joint Enterprise
AwardsPresidential Military Medal (Kosovo); Knight Order of Merit of the Italian Republic; Maurician medal; Pristina Key to the City.
ChildrenTwo

Brigadier general Ruggiero Capodivento (born 24 July 1963) is a member of the Italian Carabinieri, 20th and 26th Commander of the Multinational Specialized Unit,[1] and Commander of the international military mission "MIADIT 16", in Djibouti. He is currently serving as deputy commander of the Carabinieri Legion "Toscana".

Military career

Ruggiero Capodivento, with the rank of colonel.

He joined the Carabinieri in 1983 with the rank of carabiniere ausiliario. He attended the Military Academy of Modena between 1984 al 1986, acquiring the rank of sub-lieutenant. Then, he completed the military studies at the Carabinieri Officers' School of Rome. In 1988 he was promoted lieutenant and was chosen as commander of a platoon of cadets at the Carabinieri Marshal School of Florence. From 1990 to 1991 he led the Criminal Investigation Team of the Carabinieri Company of Mestre (VE, Italy).[1]

At the end of 1991 he is promoted to the rank of captain and he is appointed to the command of the Carabinieri Company of Reggio Emilia.[2]

In 1997 he takes move to the Carabinieri Company of Pozzuoli (NA, Italy), as the commander of the unit.[2] In the next years he is promoted to rank of major and led a section at the Carabinieri Officers' School of Rome.[2]

From 2004 to 2009 he is detached as a staff officer at General Defence Headquarters in Rome. In 2004 he is deployed in Sarajevo for the NATO mission SFOR (Bosnia Herzegovina). In 2005, he is promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.[2]

In 2009 he is promoted to colonel and the same year is assigned to the Carabinieri Training Schools’ Command in Rome as departmental chief. From 2012 to 2013 he was detached to Kochi (India) as the Carabinieri officer for the international controversy of the Enrica Lexie case.[1]

In 2013 he commanded the Carabinieri district of Treviso[3] and in 2016 he is nominated Chief of Staff of the Carabinieri Legion "Toscana".

From 15 September 2018 he has been the 20th Commander of the Multinational Specialized Unit of KFOR.[4] He ended his service as KFOR-MSU Commander on 16 October 2019[5] and he was awarded with the Kosovo Medal of Merit from the Kosovo Police and the Minister of Internal Affairs Ekrem Mustafa and the Presidential Military Medal, the highest Kosovo military decoration, from the President Hashim Thaçi.[6][7]

After coming back to homeland, in 2019, he returned to be the Chief of Staff of the Carabinieri Legion "Toscana".[8] On 5 October 2020 he left the position of Chief of Staff to be appointed as the Deputy Commander of the same unit.

From 31 January 2022 to 31 May 2022, he has been the Commander of the MIADIT 16, deployed in Djibouti, a military mission with the aim to train the Somali Armed Forces alongside the local security forces.[9]

On the 8th of February, 2023 he came back again to Kosovo as Commander of the Multinational Specialized Unit of KFOR.

The 26th of July, 2023 he is promoted to brigadier general.[10]

During his career he was the only officer in charge of the KFOR-MSU Regiment in two different years (2019 and 2023) and the only one holding the command with the rank of brigadier general, achieved during his mandate.[2]

He served as MSU Commander until the 10th of February 2024. At the end of his mandate the Mayor of Pristina Përparim Rama awarded him the Key to the City, highest decoration of the municipality.[11][12]

He is currently serving as Chief of Staff of the Carabinieri Legion "Toscana".

Studies

Graduated in high school as a chartered building surveyor in 1982 and in Law at the University of Macerata in 1993. He then obtained a degree in "Security Sciences" at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" in 2003 and a Master's degree in Strategic Sciences at the University of Turin.

He also qualified as a lawyer in 1999.

Personal life

He is married and has two sons.[1]

Related voices

References

  1. ^ a b c d NATO JFC Naples - About us – MSU Commander at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 November 2018)
  2. ^ a b c d e KFOR. "MSU Commander Ruggiero Capodivento". Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ^ Treviso Today - Treviso, nuovo comandante provinciale carabinieri ruggiero capodivento (in Italian Language)
  4. ^ NATO JFC Naples MSU Change of Command 2018
  5. ^ Missione in Kosov Avvicendamento Comando MSU Carabinieri (in Italian Language)
  6. ^ Kosovo Government. "Presidenti Thaçi dekoroi komandantin e karabinierëve italianë në Kosovë" (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Il colonnello reggiano Ruggiero Capodivento premiato dal Kosovo" Gazzetta di Reggio 29 October 2019. Page nr. 19 section "Reggioemilia" (Ricerca Gazzetta di Reggio) (In Italian language)
  8. ^ Scheda personale su Carabinieri.it (in Italian) archivied copy
  9. ^ Difesa.it Somalia: al via la sedicesima edizione della MIADIT (in Italian)
  10. ^ "CARABINIERI: PROMOSSO GENERALE CAPODIVENTO (MSU KOSOVO)". www.osservatorelibero.it (in Italian). Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  11. ^ Video from the Mayor of Pristina Official Facebook page.
  12. ^ Difesa.it - Pristina, consegna delle chiavi della città al Generale Ruggiero Capodivento (in Italian)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ruggiero Capodivento.
  • (in English) Official Ruggiero Capodivento's Twitter account
  • (in English) Official Ruggiero Capodivento's LinkedIn account
  • Biography portal