Di Palma Pierluigi

Pierluigi Di Palma was born in Grottaglie in 1956. Since 1 July 2021, he has served as President of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC).

A lawyer, Di Palma graduated in Law from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. From 1984 to 1989 he worked as a State Attorney (Procuratore dello Stato), gaining significant professional experience with the District Prosecutor’s Offices of Catanzaro, Bologna and Rome. Appointed State Advocate (Avvocato dello Stato) in 1989, he initially worked in Florence and then moved to Rome in 1991, joining the Office of the State Attorney General.

From 1998 to 2003, Pierluigi Di Palma was Director General of ENAC. He has served as legal adviser to the Ministers of Transport and Navigation, the Environment, and Trade and Industry, as well as Chief of Staff of the Emilia-Romagna Region and Head of the Legislative Office of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

He was also President of the Interministerial Council for the Security of Air Transport and Airports (CISA), Head of the ENAC and ENAV Representation Office at EU and European institutions (EURICE), Deputy Secretary General of Defence from 2011 to 2014, and a member of the Appeals Board of the European Space Agency (ESA) from 2011 to 2017.

In 2006, Pierluigi Di Palma founded the DE.ME.TRA. Study Centre (Development of European Mediterranean Transport), with the aim of promoting educational, legal, administrative and economic initiatives in the aerospace sector.