Giovanni Spinelli is an Italian journalist, born in 1942. In the 1960s he was the national representative of Italian NGOs and worked as a political reporter.

From 1979 to 1985 he served as Mayor of the Municipality of Historic Central Rome, and in 1980, UNFPA commissioned him to organise the First World Conference of Mayors in Rome. He also worked as a consultant for UNESCO on the creation of a Francophone African news agency.

Between 1972 and 1979, he held the positions of Italy correspondent, Chief Editor and Secretary General of the IPS news agency. From 1986 to 1996 he again joined IPS and served as Secretary General. He is currently a Board member of the IPS International Association, responsible for legal and corporate affairs.

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