Teo Luzi

Lieutenant General Teo Luzi was born in Cattolica, a town in the province of Rimini, on November 14, 1959. He is married to Giusy and has a daughter, Eleonora. He began his military career in 1978 when he enrolled with the 160th Course of the Military Academy of Modena, completing his military studies with a two-year course at the Carabinieri’s Officers Candidate School in Rome in 1980-1982. He attended the 117th Higher Course at the School of War of the Italian Army, and, subsequently, the 1st ISSMI Course at the Joint Services Senior Staff College in academic year 1994/1995. Afterwards, he attended the 64th ordinary session at the IASD (Institute for Advanced Studies for National Defence) in academic year 2012/2013. This allowed him to receive the titles granted by the School of War, the ISSMI and the IASD with the highest grades. He graduated in Political Sciences from La Sapienza University of Rome in 1987 and then in Law from the same University in 1991. In 2004, he graduated in International and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Trieste. In the same year, he obtained the 2nd level Master’s Degree in Strategic Sciences at the University of Turin, and in 2013 another Master’s Degree in Global Strategy and Security at La Sapienza University of Rome. He was the director of Il Carabiniere magazine. In November 2021, on the occasion of the 50th edition of the Guidarello Award for Journalism, he received an honorary prize. He held command posts for over 18 years and, in particular, that of Commander of the Carabinieri Company of Central Rome (1984-1992) and Commander of the Provincial Headquarters of Savona (2001-2003) and Palermo (2007-2012). When he was the Provincial Commander in Palermo, he contributed to consolidating the role of public institutions in local society and gave a significant input to the fight against organized crime, dismantling many gangs in the street and also jailing mobsters infiltrated in various financial sectors. He led several major investigations, including the Perseo operation in 2008, which brought to prison over 100 affiliated with Cosa Nostra, by order of the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Palermo, thus interrupting a criminal project that was aimed at reconstituting the so-called “Dome”, i.e. the committee of the top-ranking bosses of the Sicilian mafia. His investigations allowed confiscating assets belonging to mafia mobsters for a total value of more than 500 million euros. He was a member of the managing committee and task force that were appointed in 2014 to identify and implement in the Army the strategies for fulfilling the so-called “spending review” that was imposed by the Italian government during the financial crisis of those years to decrease public expenditure and eliminate excessive costs. In a similar position, he also served for the Ministry of the Interior to diminish the expenditure of the Italian Police. From 2004 to 2006, he was in charge of the Ministry of the Interior’s of technological projects that had been funded by the European Union for 40 million euros. He also held various positions abroad, including that of Chief of Staff at the Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU) in Bosnia & Herzegovina (1998-1999), and Chief of the MSU’s Advanced Party in Kosovo. From September 6, 2018 to January 15, 2021, he was the Chief of Staff of the Carabinieri’s General Command. He was honoured with the title of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. He strongly believes in the protection of the environment and in the innovation of the public administration, and he truly thinks that every good manager should fully abide by art. 98 of the Italian Constitution, which states that, ‘public employees are at the exclusive service of the Nation’. From January 16, 2021, Lieutenant General Teo Luzi is the Commander General of Carabinieri.

Reasons for assigning the Award

The prize has been awarded to Lieutenant General Teo Luzi, Commander General of the Carabinieri, as a heartfelt tribute to a servant of the State who has always persevered and steadfastly pursued the defense of the democratic principles of the Italian Republic, with loyalty, moral integrity, dedication, solidarity and a total self-denial in favor of the national institutions. The profound correctness that has always characterized his work is a shining example of how a concrete culture of justice can be disseminated. His intense activity has favored the implementation of the fight against terrorism, the fight against common and organized crime, and also the promotion of the culture of legality. Thanks to his ability to convey to young people his passion for the search of the truth, he has contributed to shaping a better youth for a better future.

Conferimento Premio Internazionale per la cultura "Vissi d'Arte Città di Alcamo"
Ritira il premio il Col. Fabio Bottino Comandante Provinciale di Trapani.