Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini
27th Prime Minister of Italy
In office 31 October 1922 – 25 July 1943
Monarch	Victor Emmanuel III
Preceded by	Luigi Facta
Succeeded by	Pietro Badoglio
Duce of Fascism
In office 23 March 1919 – 28 April 1945
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Duce of the Italian Social Republic
In office 23 September 1943 – 25 April 1945
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
First Marshal of the Empire
In office 30 March 1938 – 25 July 1943
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 5 February 1943 – 25 July 1943
Preceded by	Galeazzo Ciano
Succeeded by	Raffaele Guariglia
In office 20 July 1932 – 9 June 1936
Preceded by	Dino Grandi
Succeeded by	Galeazzo Ciano
In office 30 October 1922 – 12 September 1929
Preceded by	Carlo Schanzer
Succeeded by	Dino Grandi
Minister of the Italian Africa
In office 20 November 1937 – 31 October 1939
Preceded by	Alessandro Lessona
Succeeded by	Attilio Teruzzi
In office 17 January 1935 – 11 June 1936
Preceded by	Emilio De Bono
Succeeded by	Alessandro Lessona
In office 18 December 1928 – 12 September 1929
Preceded by	Luigi Federzoni
Succeeded by	Emilio De Bono
Minister of War
In office 22 July 1933 – 25 July 1943
Preceded by	Pietro Gazzera
Succeeded by	Antonio Sorice
In office 4 April 1925 – 12 September 1929
Preceded by	Antonino Di Giorgio
Succeeded by	Pietro Gazzera
Minister of the Interior
In office 6 November 1926 – 25 July 1943
Preceded by	Luigi Federzoni
Succeeded by	Bruno Fornaciari
In office 31 October 1922 – 17 June 1924
Preceded by	Paolino Taddei
Succeeded by	Luigi Federzoni
Personal details
Born	Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (1883-07-29)29 July 1883 Predappio, Kingdom of Italy
Died	28 April 1945(1945-04-28) (aged 61) Giulino di Mezzegra, Kingdom of Italy
Cause of death	Execution by firing squad
Resting place	San Cassiano cemetery, Predappio, Italian Republic
Nationality	Italian
Political party	National Fascist Party (1921–1943)
Other political affiliations	Italian Socialist Party (1901–1914) Fasci of Revolutionary Action (1914–1919) Italian Fasci of Combat (1919–1921) Republican Fascist Party (1943–1945)
Height	5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Spouse(s)	Rachele Guidi (m. 1915–45)
Relations	Ida Dalser Margherita Sarfatti Clara Petacci
Children	Benito Albino Mussolini Edda Mussolini Vittorio Mussolini Bruno Mussolini Romano Mussolini Anna Maria Mussolini
Profession	Politician Journalist Novelist Teacher
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	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 Second Italo-Ethiopian War Italian invasion of Albania Greco-Italian War Second World War

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (Italian pronunciation: [beˈniːto mussoˈliːni]; 29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista; PNF), ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy and set up a legal dictatorship. Known as Il Duce (The Leader), Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism.

In 1912 Mussolini was the leading member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). Prior to 1914, he was a keen supporter of the Socialist International, starting the series of meetings in Switzerland that organised the communist revolutions and insurrections that swept through Europe from 1917. Mussolini was expelled from the PSI for withdrawing his support for the party's stance on neutrality in World War I. He 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 nationalism instead of socialism, and later founded the fascist movement. Following the March on Rome in October 1922 he became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until the appointment of Matteo Renzi in February 2014. After removing all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labor strikes, Mussolini and his followers consolidated their power through a series of laws that transformed the nation into a one-party dictatorship. Within five years he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means, aspiring to create a totalitarian state. Mussolini remained in power until he was deposed by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1943. A few months later, he became the leader of the Italian Social Republic, a German client regime in northern Italy; he held this post until his death in 1945.

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