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Minister of Defence
Appointed in October 2022, Crosetto has overseen Italy's defence modernisation agenda, NATO commitments, military personnel policy and major procurement decisions.
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Minister of Defence · Italian Republic
Guido Crosetto
Parliamentarian. Co-founder of Fratelli d'Italia. Architect of Italy's renewed defence strategy at a pivotal moment in European security.
2022
Appointed Minister of Defence
1996
First elected to Parliament
2012
Co-founded Fratelli d'Italia
Public Figure
A career built on defence, industry and political leadership
Guido Crosetto has been one of the most influential figures in Italian centre-right politics for nearly three decades — a parliamentarian with deep expertise in defence and industrial policy who helped reshape the Italian right after the collapse of the First Republic.
Born in Cuneo, Piedmont, in 1963, Crosetto entered politics in the mid-1990s as a member of Forza Italia and served multiple terms in the Chamber of Deputies. His professional background in the defence and aerospace sector gave him unusual technical authority in parliamentary debate, and he rose to prominence as a trusted voice on procurement, military readiness and strategic affairs.
In 2012, alongside Giorgia Meloni and Ignazio La Russa, he co-founded Fratelli d'Italia — the Brothers of Italy — a centre-right party that grew from a small parliamentary group into Italy's largest single party by the 2022 general election. When Prime Minister Meloni formed her government in October 2022, Crosetto became Minister of Defence, a role he continues to hold.
Full Biography
Born
7 January 1963, Cuneo, Piedmont
Party
Fratelli d'Italia (co-founder)
Current Role
Minister of Defence of Italy
Parliament
Deputy from 1996; Senator from 2022
Sector
Defence, aerospace & security industry
Explore
Key areas of responsibility
From parliamentary debates to ministerial decisions, Crosetto's public career spans a broad range of institutional and strategic subjects.
International Relations
Italy's active role in NATO, European defence initiatives and transatlantic partnerships, as well as the strategic significance of the Mediterranean.
Read morePolitical Career
From his first election in 1996 to co-founding one of Italy's largest parties, Crosetto's political journey is among the most significant in recent Italian history.
Read moreDefence Policy
Italy's strategic posture, spending priorities, the debate over the 2% GDP target and the broader framework of national and collective security.
Read moreDefence Industry
Italy's defence-industrial base, aerospace sector, procurement frameworks and the economic relationship between public spending and industrial capacity.
Read morePublic Record
Speeches, parliamentary interventions, public statements, policy initiatives and documented controversies, organised chronologically and by subject.
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Chronology
Political milestones
1963
Born in Cuneo, Piedmont
Guido Crosetto is born on 7 January 1963 in Cuneo, a city in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy.
1996
First elected to Parliament
Elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of Forza Italia, beginning a parliamentary career that would span nearly three decades.
2008
Undersecretary for Defence
Appointed Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Defence in the Berlusconi IV government, deepening his institutional experience in defence policy.
2012
Co-founds Fratelli d'Italia
Together with Giorgia Meloni and Ignazio La Russa, Crosetto co-founds Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia), a new centre-right party rooted in the Italian conservative tradition.
2022
Appointed Minister of Defence
Following Fratelli d'Italia's historic election victory, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appoints Crosetto as Minister of Defence on 22 October 2022.
Role
Italy's Minister of Defence in a changed security landscape
When Crosetto took office in October 2022, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine had already fundamentally altered European security calculations. Italy faced renewed pressure to increase defence spending, modernise its armed forces and maintain credible commitments to NATO allies.
As minister, Crosetto has navigated the political complexity of raising defence expenditure in a country where public opinion on military spending has historically been cautious. He has articulated a consistent position: that Italy's security cannot be separated from European solidarity and that a well-resourced defence is a condition of effective diplomacy.
His engagement with NATO, the European Union's defence initiatives and bilateral partners has placed Italy at the centre of important strategic decisions about the continent's collective security architecture.
Learn about his ministerial role_-_November_2022_(01).jpg)
Guido Crosetto at the EU Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) in Brussels, November 2022 — one of his first engagements as Minister of Defence.
Policy
Key areas of defence and security policy
01
NATO Commitment
Italy has reaffirmed its commitment to meeting NATO's defence spending benchmark and maintaining a credible contribution to collective defence.
02
Military Modernisation
The ministry has pursued a broad modernisation programme spanning naval, air and land capabilities, with attention to long-term readiness and technological development.
03
Ukraine Support
Italy has provided military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine within the framework agreed by Parliament and consistent with European allies' commitments.
04
European Defence
Italy has engaged actively with EU defence cooperation mechanisms, supporting the development of greater European strategic autonomy within the Atlantic Alliance.
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International
Italy and the new security architecture
Italy's geography places it at the intersection of European, Mediterranean and transatlantic security interests. Crosetto has been an active participant in reshaping how Italy engages with its partners.
From the Nordic-Baltic theatre to the Southern Mediterranean, Italy's defence relationships span a wide range of bilateral and multilateral formats. Crosetto has pursued an active programme of ministerial engagements, contributing to debates about burden-sharing, industrial cooperation and the reform of European defence institutions.
Media & Archive
Photographs, video and press coverage
A curated selection of photographic records, official video and published press materials documenting Crosetto's public activities.
Browse media resources