Pierantonio Costa

Pierantonio Costa (7 May 1939 – 1 January 2021) was an Italian businessman, and diplomat who was the Italian honorary consul in Kigali during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He was noted for the humanitarian assistance and safe passages that he arranged for over 2,000 people including over 375 children fleeing violence during this time. He was a recipient of the Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic honor. He was nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize along with two Rwandan women Zura Karuhimbi and Yolande Mukagasana.

Early life Costa was born in Mestre, a borough of Venice in Italy, on 7 May 1939, to Mariangela (née Colombo) and Pietro Giuseppe. He was fifth among seven siblings. He completed his studies in Vicenza and Verona before moving to the Belgian Congo where his father had previously emigrated. During this period, his father set up a thriving orange and coffee plantation. While he was serving as consul, the Rwandan genocide broke out from 6 April to 21 July 1994. He used his diplomatic permissions to arrange for exit permits for those fleeing the violence He dealt with local militiamen while crossing the checkpoints between Rwanda and Burundi.

During this period, he lost over $3 million of his assets, and all four of his companies were wiped out. He also used his personal savings and borrowings to arrange the permits, convoys, and for tips and bribes to those manning the checkpoints. In a conversation with Italian journalist Luciano Scalettari, he revealed that he lost $300,000 of personal savings and was left with a little over $1,000.

Personal life Costa married his wife, Mariann, a Swiss citizen, when he was in Rwanda. The couple had three children: two sons and one daughter. Hotel Rwanda. In the first batch of evacuations, Costa travelled the country collecting people in different towns, while his then twenty-year-old son Olivier helped by gathering Kigali residents in Hôtel des Mille Collines. This was part of the events fictionalised in the movie Hotel Rwanda, where names are exchanged between the different participants.