Achille Lauro

This article is about the businessman. For the ship, see MS Achille Lauro. For the singer, see Achille Lauro (singer).

Achille Lauro (Italian pronunciation: [aˈkille ˈlauro]; 16 June 1887 – 15 November 1982) was an Italian businessman and politician. He is widely considered one of the main precursors of modern populism in Italian politics. He was nicknamed by his supporters Il Comandante ("The Commander").^[1]

Achille Lauro
Mayor of Naples
In office 4 February 1961 – 29 November 1961
Preceded by	Nicola Sansanelli
Succeeded by	Vincenzo Maria Palmieri
In office 9 July 1952 – 6 January 1958
Preceded by	Domenico Moscati
Succeeded by	Nicola Sansanelli
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 25 May 1972 – 19 June 1979
Constituency	Naples
In office 12 June 1958 – 4 June 1968
Constituency	Rome (1958–63) Naples (1963–68)
Member of the Senate of the Republic
In office 4 June 1968 – 25 May 1972
Constituency	Campania
In office 25 June 1953 – 6 April 1954
Constituency	Campania
Member of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations
In office 23 March 1939 – 5 August 1943
Appointed by	Benito Mussolini
Personal details
Born	(1887-06-16)16 June 1887 Piano di Sorrento, Italy
Died	15 November 1982(1982-11-15) (aged 95) Naples, Italy
Party	PNF (1939–1943) PNM (1946–1954) PMP (1954–1959) PDIUM (1959–1972) MSI (1972–1977) DN (1977–1979)
Spouse	Angelina Lauro
Residence(s)	Naples, Italy
Profession	Politician Entrepreneur
Nickname	"Il Comandante"

Biography

Born the fifth of six children of the shipowner Gioacchino and of Laura Cafiero, he was on his part the shipowner and founder of the "Flotta Lauro", based in Southern Italy.

During the decades of Italian Fascist dictatorship (1922–1943), he became a member of the National Fascist Party (PNF) and was named National Counselor of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations, appointed to this position by Galeazzo Ciano, son-in-law of Benito Mussolini himself, who was active in shipping commerce. Also during this period he was named president of the Naples football club SSC Napoli, where he succeeded Giorgio Ascarelli.

In fall of 1943, during the Allied invasion of Italy, American OSS officer Donald Downes describes requisitioning Lauro's strategically located palazzo:

Number 71 Via Francesco Crispi is a temple to essential Fascist vulgarity, and looks like nothing so much as a movie lobby in the gilded days of the opening of The Paramount in New York. The further you proceed from the circular foyer in green marble with the insignia of Lauro's fleet worked in the marble floor, the more institutionally ugly it becomes.^[2]

After the end of World War II, following an initial participation in the Common Man's Front, he became active in the Italian monarchist movement led by Alfredo Covelli and financially supported the foundation of the Monarchist National Party (PNM), and was for a long time the mayor of Naples.

In 1972, he joined the neo-fascist party Italian Social Movement (MSI).^[3] A square in the coastal town of Sorrento is named after him.

In the 2024 film Parthenope, a fictionalised version of Lauro was portrayed by Italian actor Alfonso Santagata.

Electoral history

Election	House	Constituency	Party		Votes	Result
1953	Senate of the Republic	Campania – Naples IV		PNM	182,738	Y Elected
1958	Chamber of Deputies	Rome–Viterbo–Latina–Frosinone		PMP	30,761	Y Elected
1963	Chamber of Deputies	Naples–Caserta		PDIUM	60,574	Y Elected
1968	Senate of the Republic	Campania – Naples IV		PDIUM	14,693	Y Elected
1972	Chamber of Deputies	Naples–Caserta		MSI	108,101	Y Elected
1976	Chamber of Deputies	Naples–Caserta		MSI	72,436	Y Elected
1979	Chamber of Deputies	Naples–Caserta		DN	11,118	N Not elected