Career diplomat Mario Cospito has been appointed extraordinary commissioner of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), taking over leadership of the agency following the death of its president, Teodoro Valente, and the dissolution of its board.
ASI announced Cospito’s appointment on 8 August. Cospito is a career diplomat who has held a number of senior postings, including serving as ambassador to Romania and Moldova and later to Sweden. After returning to Rome in early 2021, he spent a short stint at Italian rocket builder Avio as director of institutional relations. Then, in November 2022, he joined the office of Italy’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT), Adolfo Urso, where, according to an 8 August ASI release, he served as the minister’s “Advisor for Aerospace Policies.”
In a statement following the appointment, Minister Urso stated that the selection of Cospito was based on his “extensive institutional experience and in-depth knowledge of the space sector.” However, the minister went on to state that this “in-depth knowledge” was “developed first at Avio and then as diplomatic advisor to MIMIT,” which, taken together, amounts to around five years. That appears to be a comparatively limited period of direct experience in the space sector for someone appointed to lead Italy’s national space programme during what Urso himself describes as an “important phase.”
The appointment of an extraordinary commissioner became necessary following Valente’s death on 16 July. Although Vice President Elda Turco Bulgherini temporarily assumed his functions, Italian law does not provide for the vice president to automatically succeed to the presidency, leaving ASI under an uneasy leadership arrangement. With Italy holding the presidency of the European Space Agency Council as the agency prepares for a consequential Interim Council meeting at Ministerial level in December, the government likely considered that arrangement inadequate.
On 5 August, acting vice president Elda Turco Bulgherini and directors Stefano Gualandris and Stefano Arcifa resigned, resulting in the automatic dissolution of the board and creating the legal conditions for the appointment of an extraordinary commissioner. Mario Cospito will retain the role for up to 12 months while a new president is selected.
