Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (UK: /ˌmʊsəˈliːni, ˌmʌs-/, US: /ˌmuːs-/, Italian: [beˈniːto aˈmilkare anˈdrɛːa mussoˈliːni]; 29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian dictator and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party (PNF). He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 1943, as well as "Duce" of Italian fascism from the establishment of the Italian Fasces of Combat in 1919 until his summary execution in 1945 by Italian partisans. As dictator of Italy and principal founder of fascism, Mussolini inspired and supported the international spread of fascist movements during the inter-war period.

Quick facts: DuceBenito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy... ▼

Duce Benito Mussolini
Prime Minister of Italy[a]
In office 31 October 1922 – 25 July 1943
Monarch	Victor Emmanuel III
Preceded by	Luigi Facta
Succeeded by	Pietro Badoglio
Duce of the Italian Social Republic
In office 23 September 1943 – 25 April 1945
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Duce of Fascism
In office 23 March 1919 – 28 April 1945
Preceded by	Movement established
Succeeded by	Movement abolished
Ministerial positions Minister of Foreign Affairs In office 5 February 1943 – 25 July 1943 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Galeazzo Ciano Succeeded by Raffaele Guariglia In office 20 July 1932 – 9 June 1936 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Dino Grandi Succeeded by Galeazzo Ciano In office 30 October 1922 – 12 September 1929 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Carlo Schanzer Succeeded by Dino Grandi Minister of the Colonies In office 20 November 1937 – 31 October 1939 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Alessandro Lessona Succeeded by Attilio Teruzzi In office 17 January 1935 – 11 June 1936 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Emilio De Bono Succeeded by Alessandro Lessona In office 18 December 1928 – 12 September 1929 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Luigi Federzoni Succeeded by Emilio De Bono Minister of War In office 22 July 1933 – 25 July 1943 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Pietro Gazzera Succeeded by Antonio Sorice In office 4 April 1925 – 12 September 1929 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Antonino Di Giorgio Succeeded by Pietro Gazzera Minister of Corporations In office 20 July 1932 – 11 June 1936 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Giuseppe Bottai Succeeded by Ferruccio Lantini Minister of the Interior In office 6 November 1926 – 25 July 1943 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Luigi Federzoni Succeeded by Bruno Fornaciari In office 31 October 1922 – 17 June 1924 Prime Minister Himself Preceded by Paolino Taddei Succeeded by Luigi Federzoni
Member of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations
In office 23 March 1939 – 2 August 1943
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 11 June 1921 – 22 March 1939
Personal details
Born	Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (1883-07-29)29 July 1883 Dovia di Predappio, Forlì, Kingdom of Italy
Died	28 April 1945(1945-04-28) (aged 61) Giulino di Mezzegra, Como, Italian Social Republic
Manner of death	Summary execution
Resting place	San Cassiano cemetery, Predappio, Italy
Political party	PNF (1921‍–‍1943)
Other political affiliations	PSI (1901‍–‍1914) Fasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria (1914‍–‍1919) Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (1919‍–‍1921) PFR (1943‍–‍1945)
Spouses	Ida Dalser ​ ​ (m. 1914; div. 1915)​ Rachele Guidi ​ (m. 1915)​
Domestic partners	Margherita Sarfatti (1911‍–‍1931) Clara Petacci (1933‍–‍1945)
Children	Edda Vittorio Bruno Romano Anna Maria [it] Benito Albino (unrecognised)
Parents	Alessandro Mussolini Rosa Maltoni
Relatives	Mussolini family
Profession	Journalist novelist politician teacher
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Italy
Branch/service	Royal Italian Army
Years of service	1915–1917 (active)
Rank	First Marshal of the Empire Corporal
Unit	11th Bersaglieri Regiment
Battles/wars	First World War Pacification of Libya Second Italo-Ethiopian War Spanish Civil War Italian invasion of Albania Second World War
a. ^ Head of Government, Prime Minister, Secretary of State since 24 December 1925

This article is part of a series about Benito Mussolini
Political views Duce of Fascism Fascist Manifesto Italian fascism Spazio vitale Economic policies Racist policies Leggi razziali Manifesto della razza Fascist propaganda Model of masculinity Parties Italian Socialist Party (1901–1914) Fascio d'Azione Rivoluzionaria (1915–1919) Fasci Italiani di Combattimento (1919–1921) National Fascist Party (1921–1943) Republican Fascist Party (1943–1945) Elections 1924 1929 1934 Historical events Biennio Rosso March on Rome Mussolini government Italy under Fascism Corfu incident Murder of Giacomo Matteotti Aventine Secession Battle for Grain Battle for Land Battle for the Lira Battle for Births Second Italo-Senussi War Abyssinia Crisis Second Italo-Ethiopian War Foundation of the Empire Spanish Civil War Munich Agreement Invasion of Albania Rome-Berlin Axis Pact of Steel World War II Fall of the regime Mussolini's rescue Italian Social Republic Italian Civil War Government of the RSI Death of Mussolini
v t e

Mussolini was originally a socialist politician and a journalist at the Avanti! newspaper. In 1912, he became a member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), but he was expelled from the PSI for advocating military intervention in World War I, in opposition to the party's stance on neutrality. In 1914, Mussolini founded a new newspaper, Il Popolo d'Italia, and served in the Royal Italian Army during the war until he was wounded and discharged in 1917. Mussolini denounced the PSI, his views now centering on Italian nationalism instead of socialism, and later founded the fascist movement which came to oppose egalitarianism and class conflict, instead advocating "revolutionary nationalism" transcending class lines. On 31 October 1922, following the March on Rome (28–30 October), Mussolini was appointed prime minister by King Victor Emmanuel III, becoming the youngest individual to hold the office up to that time. After removing all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labour strikes, Mussolini and his followers consolidated power through a series of laws that transformed the nation into a one-party dictatorship. Within five years, Mussolini established dictatorial authority by both legal and illegal means and aspired to create a totalitarian state. In 1929, Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty with the Holy See to establish Vatican City.

Mussolini's foreign policy aimed to expand Italian possessions and the fascist sphere of influence. In the 1920s, he ordered the Pacification of Libya, ordered the bombing of Corfu over an incident with Greece, established a protectorate over Albania, and incorporated the city of Fiume into Italy by agreement with Yugoslavia. In 1936, Ethiopia was conquered following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and merged into Italian East Africa (AOI) with Eritrea and Somalia. In 1939, Italian forces annexed Albania. Between 1936 and 1939, Mussolini ordered an intervention in Spain in favour of Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War. At the same time, Mussolini initially tried to retain much of the Versailles status quo by sending troops to the Brenner Pass to delay Hitler's Anschluss, and taking part in the Treaty of Lausanne, the Lytton Report, the Four-Power Pact and the Stresa Front. However, he ultimately alienated the democratic powers as tensions grew in the League of Nations, which he left in 1937. Now hostile to France and Britain, Italy formed the Axis alliance with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.

The wars of the 1930s, although victorious, had cost Italy enormous resources, leaving the country unprepared for the upcoming Second World War. Therefore, when Poland was invaded on 1 September 1939, Mussolini declared Italy's non-belligerence. However, on 10 June 1940, believing that Allied defeat was imminent, he decided to join the war on the side of Germany to share the potential spoils of victory. But after three more years of world war, the tide of the conflict turned in favour of the Allies. Following the invasion of Sicily and a motion of no confidence by the Grand Council of Fascism, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini as head of government and placed him in custody (25 July 1943). After the king agreed to an armistice with the Allies, on 12 September 1943 Mussolini was rescued from captivity in the Gran Sasso raid by German paratroopers and Waffen-SS commandos. After meeting with his fallen ally, Hitler made Mussolini the figurehead of a puppet state in German-occupied northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic (Salò Republic), which served as a collaborationist regime of the Germans in their fight against the Allies, now including the Kingdom of Italy, and the Italian resistance.

In late April 1945, with Allied victory imminent, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci attempted to flee to Switzerland, but they were captured by Italian communist partisans and summarily executed on 28 April near Lake Como, and their bodies were strung up by the heels outside a service station in Milan.