Stefano Silvestri has been President of the International Affairs Institute since 2001. He has been a lead writer for Il Sole 24 Ore since 1985. Between January 1995 and May 1996 he served as Under Secretary of State for Defence, having been an advisor to the Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, for European matters, in 1975, and a consultant to the Prime Minister's Office under various Governments. He continues to act as a consultant to both for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministries of Defence and Industry. As a professional journalist, he has been a special correspondent and columnist for Globo (1982), member of the Policy Committee of Europeo (1979), and has contributed articles on foreign and defence policy to numerous national daily papers. He was Professor for Mediterranean Security Issues at the Bologna Centre of Johns Hopkins University (1972-76), and has worked at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London (1971-1972). He is currently a member of administrative council of the Italian Industries Federation for Aerospace, Defence and Security (AIAD), and of the Trilateral Commission.