In yesterday’s shakeup of Italian ambassadors, Mariangela Zappia turned out to be Rome’s new pick for Washington. She is the first woman to be appointed to lead the Italian embassy in the US, but the experienced diplomat is no stranger to the cracks in the glass ceiling.

Matter of fact, Ms Zappia (who was born in 1959) was also the first woman to become Permanent Representative of Italy to NATO’s Council in Brussels, from 2014 to 2016. The same record applied to her role as diplomatic counsellor and G7/G20 Sherpa of two prime ministers between 2016 and 2018. And finally, she was also the first woman to become Italy’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations in New York.

“The pandemic has amplified imbalances, inequalities, fracture lines. The multilateral system, and the United Nations representing its crucial centre, have somehow reflected this fragmentation of the international community. However, there has been a multilateral response, and it was marked by a spirit of unity, solidarity and pragmatism,” she said in December, speaking at an event recorded by Il Sole 24 Ore.

“The virus can only be defeated if faced together, strengthening the assistance to the most vulnerable countries and transforming the crisis in an opportunity of radical renovation. Multilateralism and international cooperation are fundamental to tackle the emergency and build a recovery.”

A diplomat by trade, Ms Zappia completed her degree and postgrad course at the University of Florence in the fields of political sciences and international relations. Shortly after she joined Italy’s Foreign Service, and from there she made her way through the embassies in Dakar and Brussels, as well as the Consulate General in New York.

She was promoted Counsellor in 1993 and took part in a special assignment to the NATO media task force during the Kosovo conflict (1997-2000), before flying back to New York as Representative at the UN. Her curriculum also includes a stint at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a series of high-level diplomatic positions in Geneva, including a role as Head of the European Union Delegation to the UN and other International Organizations.

Ms Zappia was commended twice for her service, achieving the status of Officer and then Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. She is in the International Advisory Council at the International Peace Institute and is a regular speaker at international conferences on global issues. Last but not least, she engages in the fight for gender equality as an active member of the International Gender Champions Network.