Who Is Who - Roberto Vergori: The next KFOR commander, the General whose paratroopers protected Visoki Decani

Italian Major General Roberto Vergori will take command of NATO's Kosovo mission on 3 October, succeeding Turkish Major General Ozkan Ulutas as head of KFOR. During his career, Vergori has served in international missions several times, including in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Libya.

He was born in Lecce on 28 September 1971.

From 1990 to 1992, he attended the 172nd class of the Military Academy in Modena. After graduating from the academy, he continued his education at the School of Applied Military Studies in Turin, where he remained until 1995.

He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1994 and assigned to the 183rd „Nembo“ Parachute Regiment in Pistoia, where he held numerous command and staff positions, including platoon commander, heavy mortar company commander, command and logistical support company commander, operations and training officer, and later head of the Operations, Training and Information Department.

From 2003 to 2004, he attended the 130th Army Staff Officers Course and the 7th Joint Services Course, after which he was assigned to the Personnel Directorate of the Army General Staff, where he worked until 2008.

He was promoted to the rank of major in 2007, and from 2008 to 2009 he attended the 12th Advanced Command and Staff Course in the United Kingdom.

He then served until September 2011 as the Italian Army's military representative at British Army Headquarters.

He was subsequently appointed head of a section in the General Directorate of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Italian Army.

In November 2012, he took command in Livorno of the 2nd „Tarquinia“ Battalion of the 187th „Folgore“ Parachute Regiment, responsible for preparing for the Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF).

From December 2013 to August 2016, he was assigned to the Joint Operations Command in Rome, where he initially served as head of a section in the Commander's Office and subsequently as Chief of Staff.

From March to July 2016, he served as military assistant to the Force Commander, that is, the head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission.

In July 2016, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. In September of the same year, he took command of the 5th „Aosta“ Infantry Regiment in Messina, serving as its 123rd commander until February 2018. Under his leadership, the regiment carried out preparations for the Joint Rapid Reaction Force, and in June 2017 it formed the „Taormina 1“ Joint Task Force, which was deployed to provide security for the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Taormina.

From February 2018, he was assigned to the Joint Operations Command in Rome as head of the J3 Department.

From August 2020 to October 2021, he commanded the Bilateral Mission for Assistance and Support in Libya.

He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in January 2021.

In October 2021, he took command of the „Folgore“ Parachute Brigade, whose personnel were deployed as part of the KFOR mission in Kosovo, including in the protection of the Visoki Decani Monastery.

In 2022, on the occasion of the return of the Italian 185th Parachute Artillery Regiment from a six-month deployment with KFOR, Vergori said that, in a „dynamic and complex context“, further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the paratroopers had operated with „great professionalism, competence and humanity“, protecting „the Decani Monastery and freedom of movement“.

From February to August 2023, he commanded the Joint Task Force for the Western Sector in Lebanon, as part of the United Nations mandate (UNIFIL).

In October 2023, he was appointed commander of the Army Non-Commissioned Officers Academy in Viterbo.

He has obtained several parachuting qualifications, including a free-fall qualification. He also attended the 2nd International Special Forces Course in Venezuela, as well as other specialist courses abroad.

According to his biography, he is most proud of his family, his wife Serena and their two daughters, Sara and Sofia.