Ambassador Sem FABRIZI
Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia
accredited to Djibouti, South Sudan and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Sem Fabrizi has been appointed Italian Ambassador to Ethiopia by the Council of Ministers of Italy in June 2025. He took up his functions in Addis Ababa on November 1st.
Sem is a senior Italian diplomat with a wide range of leadership experience and skills gained over three decades of international engagements.
He has held senior posting, including two appointments as European Union Ambassador to Serbia (2017 –2021) and, previously, to Australia (2013-17).
He spent several years as a diplomatic advisor to the Prime Ministers of Italy in Rome (2006 – 2009), also dealing with Africa, and the President of the European Council in Brussels (2010 – 2013), dealing with the MENA region.
In Rome he was seconded by the Italian MFA to the Leonardo Defense group as Director for International Relations (2021 – 2022).
Earlier in his career he served in Rome at the MFA Sub – Sahara Department (1995 – 96), in Beijing at the Italian Embassy (1999-2002), and the Italian Permanent Representations to the UN in Geneva (2002 -05) and the EU in Brussels (2009).
He holds the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary (2020).
Degrees in International Law (1991) and Political Sciences (2007) from the University of Rome, La Sapienza. Master course at the Diplomatic School, LUISS University (1992). Cour d’administration et relations internationals at ENA (1993) and Executive Education at Harvard University (2022)
Cadet- First in class, infantry Lieutenant– Italian Army (1991 – 1992)
Italian (mother tongue), English, French, Spanish