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Elena Basile

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Elena Basile
Minister Plenipotentiary
In office
2013–2021
Ambassador of Italy to Sweden
In office
2013–2017
Ambassador of Italy to Belgium
In office
2017–2021
Personal details
Born(1959-12-26)26 December 1959
Naples, Italy
Alma materUniversità degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale"
ProfessionDiplomat, author

Elena Basile (born 26 December 1959) is a former Italian diplomat and author. From 2013 to 2021, she served as ambassador to Sweden and Belgium[1][2][3][4] and in 2023 she left the diplomatic service with the rank of plenipotentiary.[5][6][7]

Life

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Diplomatic career

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Basile was born on 26 December 1959 in Naples. After graduating from Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale" in 1982, she joined the foreign service in 1985.[8] She served for some years in Madagascar as first commercial secretary at the Italian embassy in Antananarivo and then as deputy consul in Toronto.

From 1999 to 2002 she was assigned to the Italian Embassy in Budapest, and from 2003 to 2007 in Lisbon. In 2008, she was head of the OSCE section of the Directorate General for Political and Security Affairs [it] of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[8] and from 2010 to 2012 she was head of the North American countries unit at the same Directorate.[8][9][10] From 2013 to 2017 she served as ambassador in Sweden, and from 2017 to 2021 in Belgium.[2][3][4][11]

In 2023 she left the diplomatic service with the rank of minister plenipotentiary.[5][6][7]

Columnist and commentator

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Between 2022 and 2023 Basile wrote several articles for Il Fatto quotidiano under the pseudonym "Ipazia", some of which were criticised as pro-Russian.[12][13] In one of them she blamed Ukraine for the worsening of Russia–Ukraine relations, and accused the Ukrainian government of having "sent 250,000 young people to their death at the behest of NATO".[14][15][16] Her views sparked controversy in July 2023, when she revealed her identity behind Ipazia.[14][15][16] In October 2023, after the Hamas attack on Israel, she commented on the situation on the La7 television channel, taking a critical stance towards the Israeli government and Western countries.[17][18]

In February 2024 Basile posted a video on Facebook criticising Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre for statements that Segre had not made. According to Basile, during the Israel–Hamas war Segre had expressed solidarity exclusively with Jewish children, thereby overlooking the suffering of Palestinian children. When Segre's family threatened legal action, Basile admitted her mistake and apologised publicly[19][20] but was still sued because of the widespread circulation of her video and because her apology was deemed unsatisfactory.[21][22]

Writer

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As a writer,[12][17][23][24] Basile made her debut in 1995 with Donne, nient’altro che donne. In 2014, her novel Una vita altrove was a finalist for the Rome Prize. A collection of short stories, Miraggi, published by Castelvecchi in 2018, was translated in French and published in Belgium in 2021.[11][25] The 2022 novel In famiglia published by La nave di Teseo [it] won the Premium International Florence Seven Stars for fiction.[26] In 2023 she published the novel Un insolito trio.[27] In 2024 she published L'Occidente e il nemico permanente[28] and Frammenti di Bruxelles.[29]

Honours

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Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – 1996[30]

Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic– 2005[31]

Publications

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ OpenOnline (8 February 2024). "Il sindacato dei diplomatici prende le distanze da Elena Basile dopo "Otto e mezzo": "Non è mai stata ambasciatrice"".
  2. ^ a b brusselsdiplomatic (4 June 2017). "New Ambassadors in Belgium". Brussels Diplomatic. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "21 NOVEMBRE 2020. L'AMBASCIATRICE D'ITALIA IN BELGIO, ELENA BASILE, PARTECIPA ALLA MARATONA FILOSOFICA ORGANIZZATA DALLA FONDAZIONE DE SANCTIS IN OCCASIONE DELLA GIORNATA MONDIALE DELLA FILOSOFIA. – Ambasciata d'Italia Bruxelles". ambbruxelles.esteri.it. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Gentiloni a un dibattito con i laureati LUISS all'ambasciata italiana in Belgio". Eunews (in Italian). 18 February 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b Redazione (13 October 2023). "Chi è Elena Basile, la "ministra plenipotenziaria" che parla di Hamas e Israele in tv". Open (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b "SNDMAE stigmatizza dichiarazioni e interventi di Elena Basile". www.giornalediplomatico.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Amb. Basile si difende da accuse dopo aver rivelato identità di". www.giornalediplomatico.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Farnesina: Elena Basile nominata ambasciatore d'Italia a Bruxelles" (in Italian). 3 April 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Formal audiences – Sveriges Kungahus". www.kungahuset.se. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Ambassadrice Elena BASILE" (PDF). ambbruxelles.esteri.it/. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Da Ciao Magazine, Intervista a Elena Basile: "La scrittura è un'arma contro la superficialità" | www.comunicazioneinform.it" (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Elena Basile, l''ex ambasciatrice' al centro delle polemiche". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). 13 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Elena Basile, la "nuova Orsini" che spopola nei talk su Hamas: "Tutta colpa dell'Occidente"". la Repubblica (in Italian). 12 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  14. ^ a b Piccolillo, Virginia (7 June 2023). "L'ex ambasciatrice italiana in Belgio rivela chi c'è dietro gli articoli filorussi: "Ipazia sono io"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Su Basile prove di censura: gli ex colleghi la difendono". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  16. ^ a b Ruggiero, Giovanni (6 July 2023). "Il caso dell'ex ambasciatrice italiana e gli articoli "filorussi" sul Fatto Quotidiano: "Sono io Ipazia"". Open (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Nuova guerra, nuovi exploit in tv. Chi è Elena Basile, l'ex ambasciatrice poco diplomatica". HuffPost Italia (in Italian). 12 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Elena Basile, l''ex ambasciatrice' al centro delle polemiche". tg24.sky.it (in Italian). 13 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Elena Basile e il video-accusa contro Liliana Segre: la senatrice querela l'ex ambasciatrice". Rai News (in Italian). 7 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Le scuse di Elena Basile alla senatrice Segre: "Ho sbagliato ad agire molto frettolosamente, spero potrà dimenticare l'offesa ricevuta"". Il Fatto quotidiano (in Italian). 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  21. ^ ""Ha a cuore solo bambini ebrei", Liliana Segre querela Elena Basile". Adnkronos. 29 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Segre suing Basile for saying she only cares about Jewish kids - World - Ansa.it". Agenzia ANSA. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Elena Basile, chi è l'"ex ambasciatrice" che sta infiammando i talk su Hamas". TGLA7 (in Italian). 13 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Elena Basile, chi è l'ex ambasciatrice che attacca Israele". ilGiornale.it (in Italian). 12 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  25. ^ "ONLINE in diretta: Presentazione del libro "Mirages" di Elena Basile – Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Bruxelles". iicbruxelles.esteri.it. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Premium International Florence Seven Stars a 3 ambasciatori". www.giornalediplomatico.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Circolo Esteri: amb. Elena Basile presenta suo libro "Un insolito trio"". www.giornalediplomatico.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Elena Basile "L'Occidente e il nemico permanente"". www.paperfirst.it (in Italian).
  29. ^ "Elena Basile "Frammenti di Bruxelles"". www.sandrotetieditore.it (in Italian).
  30. ^ "Basile Dott.ssa Elena. Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana". Quirinale.it. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  31. ^ "Basile Dott.ssa Elena. Uficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana". Quirinale.it. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
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