hosted by Professor Renaud Dehousse


SAIS Europe 70th Anniversary

The Bologna Center of the Johns University, now SAIS Europe, inauguration was celebrated on February 22, 1955. More than a thousand guests attended the event, held in the University of Bologna Aula Magna, with stately medieval pomp and a procession of dignitaries.

With 4 professors, 10 students, and borrowed classrooms, Professor C. Grove Haines launched an experiment in international education. Haines' vision was to offer these students the experience of living and studying together under a multinational faculty in an international environment, thereby encouraging cross-cultural communication and fostering collaboration among world leaders.

Today, SAIS Europe students, trained under a multinational, multidisciplinary faculty, continue to form lifelong friendships and professional connections that sustain them through careers as leaders in all sectors of international affairs worldwide.

The 70^th anniversary celebrates Haines' vision and the center's 9,300 alumni from 133 nations — ambassadors of Bologna and of SAIS Europe in the world.

PAOLO GENTILONI

Paolo Gentiloni is Former Prime Minister of Italy and Former European Commissioner for Economy.

Gentiloni started his career as a professional journalist and politician and has a degree in Political Science from the University of Rome. He is one of the founding members of the Italian Democratic Party and was a member of the Italian Parliament from 2001-2019. He served as Minister of Communications (2006-2008) under Prime Minister Romano Prodi, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2014-2016) under Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. In December 2016, Gentiloni was appointed Prime Minister of Italy, serving until June 2018. From December 2019 to November 2024 Gentiloni held the office of European Commissioner for Economy at the European Commission.

Gentiloni has recently been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as co-chair of a high-level expert group tasked with addressing the global debt crisis through advancing policy solutions and building political and public support.

Gentiloni is a distinguished fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and member of the Economist Global Advisory Board. His last book La Sfida Impopulista (The (Un)populist Challenge) was published in 2018.