Piero De Masi (June 6, 1937 – October 13, 2021) was an Italian

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

, known for his contribution in saving hundreds of Chileans fleeing the violence that followed the 1973 Pinochet coup.

Education

He graduated in Political Science from the University of Rome on July 12, 1960 and received a graduate degree in High European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

Career

De Masi began his diplomatic career in 1964 and served in several diplomatic posts, including

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, Durban, Santiago, Prague, Madrid and Berlin. He was the first Italian Ambassador to Namibia from 1990 to 1996 and then Italian General Consul in Boston (1998-2002) and Amsterdam (2002-2004).

Chile coup

In 1973, during the Pinochet coup, De Masi was

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

at the Italian Embassy in Santiago. He was the highest-ranking official, given the ambassador's absence. Immediately after the coup, some people (including families with children) started seeking refuge at the embassy. De Masi asked the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

for instructions, but did not get an answer. For several months the number of fleeing Chileans taking refuge at the embassy kept increasing. De Masi was forced to use his own money to buy numerous mattresses, to offer a bed to the many guests, who were numbering more than 50 per room. Thanks to De Masi's efforts, hundreds of opponents of the Chilean regime escaped death and could leave for exile in Italy. The story of the Italian Embassy in Santiago was the subject of the 2018 documentary film Santiago, Italia, by director Nanni Moretti, in which De Masi, together with Roberto Toscano, has a central role. He died in Umbria, Italy on October 12, 2021.

Works

* Piero De Masi, Santiago. 1 febbraio 1973-27 gennaio 1974, Roma, Bonanno Editore, 2013. * Piero De Masi, Santiago. 1 de febrero de 1973 -27 de enero de 1974, Editorial Cuadernos Del Laberinto, Editorial Cuadernos Del Laberinto, 2017.

Honors

Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic - 1978 Hero of the Republic of Chile, 2015

References