Bruno Branciforte (born November 6, 1947) is an Italian admiral. He was Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy from 23 February 2010 to 2 March 2012 and he succeeded to

Nicolò Pollari Nicolò Pollari (born 3 March 1943 in Caltanissetta) is a general of the Italian Guardia di Finanza, who was the former head of Italy's national military intelligence agency, or SISMI, from 1 October 2001 until his resignation on 20 November 2006. ...

as the last head of the Italian Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISMI), nominated by Prime Minister

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Pr ...

, from 21 November to 2006 to 3 August 2007 when the Agency was dissolved and transformed into the Italian External Intelligence and Security Agency (AISE). He was also the first director of AISE from 4 August 2007 to 4 February 2010. Branciforte attended the

Italian Naval Academy The Italian Naval Academy (Italian: ''Accademia Navale'') is a coeducational military university in Livorno, which is responsible for the technical training of military officers of the Italian Navy. History The Hospitals The Hospital of St. James ...

in Livorno from 1965 to 1969 when he graduated with the rank of navy guard. From 1976 to 1978 he commanded the Aquila Corvette. In 1979 he was named to the Second Intelligence unit of the chief of staff of the Navy, before being appointed director of the Intelligence Center of the Navy and then director of the research center in 1985. In 1985, he was named Captain of frigate, and quickly became first commandant of the cruiser ''Vittorio Veneto'', before being named commandant of the Alisea frigate. In 1987 he was again assigned to the chief of staff of the Navy, before being nominated in Washington D.C., where he worked from 1989 to 1992. When he returned to Italy, he became commandant of the aircraft carrier ''Giuseppe Garibaldi''. Promoted Rear Admiral in 1995, he was from December 15, 2001 to February 12, 2002 Italy's representative at Tampa (USA), near the

USCENTCOM The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

, during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He became chief of staff of the Navy from 2001 to 2004 He was promoted Vice-Admiral in February 2004 before being appointed

Commander in Chief Naval Fleet The Commander in Chief Naval Fleet (Italian: ') (CINCNAV) is a post in the Italian Navy that is responsible for the operational aspects of the Italian Navy, including ships, submarines and aircraft. The post was established in 1952 and since 1972 ...

on 22 October 2004.

Honors and awards

References

Branciforte, una vita in Marina e tante relazioni con gli Usa
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La Repubblica ''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnol ...

'', 20 November 2006 {{s-end 1947 births Living people Military personnel from Naples SISMI Italian admirals