Professional Affiliation

Honorary Director, European Commission

Expert Bio

Corrado Pirzio-Biroli (born 25 November 1940 in Udine, Italy) Ambassador (a.D) Corrado Pirzio-Biroli has been a long serving official of the European Commission, of which he is honorary director. Before joining the Commission, the Development Advisor to the Government of the Sudan in Khartoum (1969-1970) and Assistant Lecturer in Economics at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague (1968). Later he became lecturer in Development Economics at the University of Gorizia, Italy.

His posts with the European Commission included that of Chief of Staff of the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries (1995-2004), EU Ambassador to Austria and to the United Nation agencies in Vienna (1992-1994), Minister at the EU Delegation to the United States of America (1988-1992), Deputy-Head of Division for the European Economic Area (1985-88), staff member of the cabinet of Commission President Gaston Thorn (1982-84) - in charge of the EU budget, economic and financial affairs, energy, EURATOM and transportation; economic and financial advisor in the EU Delegation to the USA in Washington (1978-1982), EU delegate to the Conference on International Economic Cooperation, Paris (1975-76), and principal administrator for Development Cooperation Policy   (1971-1978).  As the Doyen of the European Commission’s Chiefs of Staff he actively participated in the key steering groups that elaborated the European Constitution proposals, and the EU’s Financial Perspectives 1999-2006 and 2007-2013. He also took active part in the Doha Development Agenda and the WTO negotiating framework agreed in July 2004.

He is the author of Vision Europa (in German), biographical history books (in English, French and Italian) about the explorer Pietro di Brazzà Savorgnan, Grand-Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, and Ambassador Ulrich von Hassell and the opposition to Nazi-fascism (not yet in English).

He obtained a Doctorate in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Rome and two post-graduate diplomas in economic planning and industrial development programming from the ISS.

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