Luciano Portolano

Luciano Portolano
Born	(1960-09-18)18 September 1960 Agrigento, Sicily
Allegiance	Italy
Service / branch	Esercito Italiano
Years of service	1981–present
Rank	General
Unit	Bersaglieri
Commands	67th Bersaglieri Battalion 18th Bersaglieri Regiment Sassari Brigade TAAC-West UNIFIL JFC Naples (Chief of Staff) Joint Operative Command (Italy) Italian armed forces
Battles / wars	Yugoslav Wars Kosovo War Iraq War Operation Ancient Babylon War in Afghanistan Civil war in Somalia Civil war in Lebanon
Awards	Officer, OMRI Officer, Military Order of Italy Silver Valour Medal (Army) Gold Merit Cross (Army) (2) Officer, Legion of Merit

Luciano Portolano is an Italian general and currently serving as Chief of the Defense Staff since 4 October 2024.

Biographical Information

Lieutenant General Portolano joined the Italian army in September 1981. Before joining the United Nations, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Joint Operations in the Italian army. He also held the positions of Commander of the Sassari Mechanized Brigade and Commander of the International Security Assistance Force. His experience with multinational operations includes work with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Iraq and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He also served in the Italian Armed Forces as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Joint Operations. On 16 June 2014 he was named Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and he ended his service in Lebanon in July 2016.

He is married and has two children.

Awards and decorations

• Two Sicilian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Saint George