Sir Edward Leigh Onorificenza Commendatore Osi My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen, a very good evening and welcome to the Italian Embassy. Thank you all for coming here this evening to celebrate the presentation of the Commendatore della Stella d’Italia award, bestowed upon our friend Sir Edward Leigh by the Italian President. First I would like to start saying a few words on this prestigious award. The different ranks of the order of the Stella d’Italia are bestowed upon Italians living abroad and foreign nationals, in recognition of their special merits in fostering friendly relations and cooperation between Italy and their country of residence and the promotion of ties with Italy. Since the start of the order only 4675 Commendatori of the Italian Star have been awarded. 1 A small army of friends of Italy from the four corners of the globe. I am glad that Sir Edward’s name has now been added to this prestigious list of distinguished individuals. It is my personal honor to welcome Sir Edward Leigh to the Embassy today. Sir Edward has been member of the House of Commons since 1983 and recently won his ninth consecutive parliamentary election. As well as being a well renowned politician, Sir Edward is also a qualified barrister, he practiced in arbitration and criminal law for Goldsmiths Chambers, and has served as an Independent Financial Advisor to the Treasury. Since 2011, he has also been elected as Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission, the body which audits the National Audit Office, responsible for saving the taxpayer over £4 billion. 2 In 2015, he was also appointed Officer of the Légion d’honneur for his services to Franco-British relations, and he is a Knight of Honour & Devotion of the Order of Malta. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2013, Sir Edward was knighted ‘for public and political service’, after having always served his country in a clear, transparent and consistent manner. He has shown coherence within his party, the Conservatives, always opposing initiatives that were in conflict with his own principles and values, and has reflected the same coherence in his regular speeches in the House of Commons on civil liberties, constitutional and economic matters. In 2015 Sir Edward was nominated Chairman of the Italian-British Interparliamentary Group, position that he currently holds also for France, Russia and the Holy See. 3 In this capacity, Sir Edward has been extremely cooperative with this Embassy, demonstrating a distinctive sensitivity towards the improvement of the relationship between Italy and the UK. His activity has favoured an increase in exchanges between the two countries’ Parliaments and an improvement in the already excellent relations between Italy and UK. In February 2016, during the visit of the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Laura Boldrini, and in April 2016 of the Minister of Constitutional Reforms and of the Relationship with Parliament, Maria Elena Boschi, Sir Edward helped the Embassy in organizing meetings at Westminster with Member of the Parliament, thus contributing to the creation of a very constructive debate and making the Institutional visits a success. 4 As you all know, Sir Edward worked alongside with Margaret Thatcher and also visited 10 Downing Street on the morning of Thatcher's resignation as Prime Minister in 1990 to try to persuade her to carry on. So I’d like to complete with a concept that she remarked in 1986 in a TV interview of the national Italian television, RAI, that I believe is particularly fitting: “I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe.” Clearly Sir Edward Leigh has put into practice these words. 5 .