WBF PRESIDENT

Gianarrigo RONA

Gianarrigo RONA was born in Rome, Italy, in 1940, but as a child he lived in Pavia, a historic town near Milan. He went to school there, and later studied law, following family tradition. He was Vice President of the National Foundation of Italian lawyers until 1998.

He started playing bridge in 1974. He has a son and a daughter by his first marriage. He re-married his present wife, Cippi, in 1998.

In 1986 he became President of the Italian Bridge Fed­er­a­tion (FIGB), a post he retained until 2009. During his term in office, the membership of the Federation rose from about 9,000 to nearly 30,000 members.

Under his leadership, FIGB was recognized by CONI, the Italian National Olympic Committee (1993), and or­gan­ized numerous European and World Championships.

Gianarrigo Rona entered the European Bridge League Executive Committee in 1997, and became Acting Treasurer in 1998. He was elected EBL President by the Congress in Malta, in June 1999. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. In 2010, he concluded a successful presidency and was elected EBL Pres­i­dent Emeritus.

As EBL President, Gianarrigo Rona entered the Executive Council of the World Bridge Fed­er­a­tion in 1999. He was named WBF 1st Vice President in 2006, a position he retained until October 2010 when he assumed the Presidency of the World Bridge Federation, succeeding José Damiani.

In recognition of his services to bridge, the International Bridge Press Association (IBPA) named Gianarrigo Rona 'Personality of the Year' 2003 (click here for the citation).