Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri chair Claudio Graziano found dead

The sudden death of Claudio Graziano, chair of the Italian state-backed shipbuilder Fincantieri, sent shockwaves through the country’s political and business establishment on Monday.

The loss of Graziano, 70, had left a “great irreplaceable void”, the company said. The police are investigating suicide as one of the possible causes of his death, said a person close to the company.

The retired general, who had been chair of Fincantieri since May 2022, had been mourning his wife, who passed away a year ago after a battle with cancer, the person said.

Graziano’s death comes less than two weeks after Fincantieri approved a €500mn capital-raising to finance the company’s acquisition of the submarine unit of Italian defence group Leonardo. Shares in Fincantieri fell 3 per cent on Monday.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was shocked at the death of “an upright servant of the state, who throughout his life honoured the nation, the armed forces and the institutions with dedication, competence and professionalism”.

Defence minister Guido Crosetto said Graziano’s death “represents a serious loss” for Italian defence.

The acquisition of Underwater Armaments Systems, which produces underwater missiles and sonars, was announced in May, as Fincantieri — which also makes luxury cruise ships at its home port of Monfalcone — moved to build up its military business.

The capital-raising, which is to be led by state investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, is awaiting approval from Italy’s security regulator.

Graziano, who began his military career with Italy’s alpine troopers close to his home city of Turin in the mid-1970s, was one of the highest-ranking military officials in the country, having previously served as the national chief of defence staff.

His tours of duty included a stint as Italy’s military attaché to Washington DC, leadership of the multinational forces responsible for the Kabul area in Afghanistan and force commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon.

For four years, until 2022, he also chaired the EU Military Committee, which brings together the highest-ranking military officials of the EU’s 27 countries and advises Brussels on security issues.

Fincantieri is seeking to expand its underwater business as governments intensify their efforts to protect critical underwater infrastructure, such as telecommunications cables and energy pipelines, from rogue actors. According to three people briefed on the talks, the Italian shipbuilder is also among suitors for Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.

Earlier this year, Fincantieri announced a shipbuilding partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Edge Group.

Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, said Graziano’s death “leaves me without words”.

“He was a friend and an extraordinary officer who honoured Italy even in his European roles,” the minister wrote on X, the social media platform, one of the many tributes that began pouring out as the news spread in Italy.

Paolo Magri, chief executive of Milan-based think-tank ISPI, who was a cadet in one of Graziano’s alpine trooper brigades during his youth, said the retired general “had an extraordinary ability to shift from tough Nato negotiations to the national alpine troopers get-togethers with us former cadets where his good nature would always emerge”.