Item 31.1  Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certifications







                                 CERTIFICATIONS
                                 --------------


I, Aldo C. Zucaro, certify that:

     1.   I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Old Republic
          International Corporation ("the registrant");

     2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
          statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
          necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
          circumstances under which such statements were made, not
          misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

     3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
          financial information included in this report, fairly present
          in all material respects the financial condition, results of
          operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for,
          the periods presented in this report;

     4.   The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are
          responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
          controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
          13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial
          reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and
          15d-15(f))for the registrant and have:

               (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures,
               or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to
               be designed under our supervision, to ensure that
               material information relating to the registrant,
               including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made
               known to us by others within those entities,
               particularly during the period in which this report
               is being prepared;

               (b) Designed such internal control over financial
               reporting, or caused such internal control over
               financial reporting to be designed under our
               supervision, to provide reasonable assurance
               regarding the reliability of financial reporting and
               the preparation of financial statements for external
               purposes in accordance with generally accepted
               accounting principals;


               (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
               disclosure controls and procedures and presented in
               this report our conclusions about the effectiveness
               of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the
               end of the period covered by this report based on
               such evaluation; and

               (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the
               registrant's internal control over financial
               reporting that occurred during the registrant's most
               recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal
               quarter in the case of an annual report) that has
               materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
               materially affect, the registrant's internal control
               over financial reporting; and

     5.   The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have
          disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
          control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors
          and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors
          (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

               (a) All significant deficiencies and material
               weaknesses in the design or operation of internal
               control over financial reporting which are reasonably
               likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability
               to record, process, summarize and report financial
               information; and

               (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
               management or other employees who have a significant
               role in the registrant's internal control over
               financial reporting.


Date: August 8, 2005


                                               /s/ A. C. Zucaro
                                              ---------------------------------
                                                   A. C. Zucaro, Chairman
                                                   and Chief Executive Officer