Diodato Abagnara

Diodato Abagnara is an Italian Army major general who has served as Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) since 24 June 2025, succeeding Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz of Spain. With over 36 years of military service, he previously served as Commander of UNIFIL's Sector West from 2018 to 2019

Early life and education Abagnara holds four bachelor's degrees: in Political Science and Strategic Sciences from the University of Turin, in Business Management and Communication from the University of Teramo, and in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Trieste. Following his 2018–2019 command of UNIFIL's Sector West and prior to his most recent role with the Military Technical Committee for Lebanon (MTC4L), Abagnara held several senior appointments within the Italian Armed Forces. These included Personnel Division Chief, Adviser to the Chief of Defence Staff, Commander of an infantry brigade, Chief of the Officers’ Employment Office, and Chair of the Joint Gender Perspective Council within the Defense General Staff. as the next Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL, which was announced by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. On 24 June 2025 he officially assumed the position, succeeding Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz of Spain.

Awards Abagnara has received six publicly documented awards and honours during his military career. His earliest publicly documented award was the Bronze Cross for Army Merit, awarded on 28 July 2010 for his service as Commander of the 1st Squadron Group of the 5th Lancieri di Novara regiment during Operation Leonte 5 in Lebanon (November 2008-April 2009).

On 2 June 2012, he was appointed a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and only three years later, appointed an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on 2 June 2015.