Fulvio Martini

Fulvio Martini (* 1923 in Trieste , † February 15, 2003 in Rome ) was an admiral in the Italian Navy and from May 1984 to February 1991 head of the SISMI intelligence service .

Life

Martini joined the Italian Navy during World War II . 1956 began his long career in military intelligence in Italy . Until 1962 he served in the naval intelligence service SIOS-Marina (A2), from 1965 to 1968 he was naval attaché in Belgrade , until 1977 he worked in the military intelligence service SID and then witnessed the intelligence reform in Italy. Shortly after the introduction of the new SISMI and SISDE services, he was given a command at sea again. After a few scandals ( Propaganda Due ), in which SISMI and its staff from the previous SID service were also involved, the experienced intelligence officer Martini was appointed to head the SISMI, who he immediately cleared of old fascists and other scandal-ridden management staff. Although he could not arrange radical breaks himself and was tied to structures from the Cold War , he managed to turn the SISMI into a powerful and modern intelligence service in a very short time and gradually lead it out of the orbit of secret police machinations. In 1985, during the Achille Lauro crisis , Martini managed to free himself from the dependency on the United States , and in 1987 he emancipated himself from the French during the government crisis in Tunisia .

About his time with the intelligence services he wrote a book with the title Nome in codice: Ulisse (introduction or preface by former Prime Ministers Giulio Andreotti and Giuliano Amato ).