IRANIAN JOURNALIST ELECTED GENERAL SECRETARY OF ITALY’S "STAMPA STERI"
ROME 3 Mar. (IPS) Veteran Iranian-Italian journalist Ahmad Ra’fat was elected last week as the new General Secretary of Italy’s prestigious "Stampa Steri", or the Foreign Press Association.
E. Josezef, the correspondent of the French leftist "Liberation" became the new President of the ninety-years old Association that now has 517 members, representing medias from 56 nations from all over the world.
A colleague of the Iran Press Service, Mr. Ra’fat, 50, married to an Italian and father of two sons, is himself the Middle East and Balkan’s bureau chief for Spain’s leading and influential magazine "El Tiempo".
Reckoned as one of the best specialist of the Middle East affairs, particularly his native Iran, Mr. Ra’fat started working as journalist 25 years ago with Italian and Spanish publications as well as Iranian media.
In the past ten years, he has extensively covered both the Middle East crisis and the Balkan wars, including the collapse of the Former Yugoslavia.
Besides covering for El Tiempo, Mr. Ra’fat also works for the Persian service of the Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
He is the first Iranian to have been elected as the General Secretary to the Italy’s Foreign Press Association. ENDS RA’FAT 3302