Dino Grandi | |
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| President of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations | |
| In office 30 November 1939 – 2 August 1943 | |
| Preceded by | Costanzo Ciano |
| Succeeded by | Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (As president of the Chamber of Deputies) |
| Minister of Grace and Justice | |
| In office 12 July 1939 – 5 February 1943 | |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Preceded by | Arrigo Solmi |
| Succeeded by | Alfredo De Marsico |
| Ambassador of Italy to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 3 August 1932 – 13 October 1939 | |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Preceded by | Antonio Chiaramonte Bordonaro |
| Succeeded by | Giuseppe Bastianini |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 12 September 1929 – 20 July 1932 | |
| Prime Minister | Benito Mussolini |
| Preceded by | Benito Mussolini |
| Succeeded by | Benito Mussolini |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 June 1895 Mordano, Italy |
| Died | 21 May 1988(1988-05-21) (aged 92) Bologna, Italy |
| Political party | FIC (1920–1921) PNF (1921–1943) |
| Alma mater | University of Bologna |
| Profession | Lawyer politician |
Dino Grandi, 1stConte diMordano (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), was an ItalianFascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president ofParliament.
Born atMordano,province of Bologna, Grandi was a graduate in law and economics at theUniversity of Bologna in 1919 (after serving inWorld War I). Grandi started a career as a lawyer inImola. Attracted to thepolitical left, he nonetheless became impressed withBenito Mussolini after the two met in 1914, and became a staunch advocate of Italy's entry into the World War.
He joined theBlackshirts at age 25, and was one of 35 Fascist delegates elected, along with Mussolini, in May 1921 to theChamber of Deputies. Grandi survived anambush carried out by leftist militants in 1920, and had his studio devastated on one occasion.
After theMarch on Rome on 28 October 1922, in which the Fascists took power in Italy, Grandi became part of the new government; first as the undersecretary of the interior (1923), then as theItalian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1929) and then as Italy's ambassador to the United Kingdom (1932 to 1939). Grandi was an ally to the most radical and violent groups of fascists, always surrounding himself with members of the Blackshirts. He used his power base to voice criticism of Mussolini's attempt to reach anarmistice with left-wingers and was at one point under suspicion for having attempted to replace the latter with the skeptical alleged Mussolini forerunnerGabriele D'Annunzio.
In 1939, he was recalled to Italy after attempting a pact between his country and Britain to prevent Italy from entering World War II. Under pressure from Hitler, Mussolini removed him from the post of ambassador and appointed him Minister of Justice. As a diplomat, Grandi created a net of connections that were rivaled only by Mussolini's son-in-law,Galeazzo Ciano, and he attempted to use it for his own gains. Thus, he persuadedKingVictor Emmanuel III to grant him a title in 1937,[1] and he managed to retain a comfortable position until he was sent by Mussolini to theGreek Front with the otherGerarchi in 1941. As Mussolini's ambassador to London, he had affairs with some of the most influential noblewomen of the time, includingLady Alexandra Curzon, daughter of the Viceroy of India,George Curzon.[2]
Grandi opposed the antisemiticItalian racial laws of 1938,[3] and the country's entry intoWorld War II. He was dropped from the Cabinet in February 1943 for his increasing criticism of the war effort.
As the war began to have its devastating effect on Italy after theAllied invasion of Sicily, Grandi and other members of theFascist Grand Council met on 24 July 1943. When Mussolini said that the Germans were thinking of evacuating the south, Grandi launched a blistering attack on his former comrade-in-arms. He then made a motion (Ordine del giorno Grandi) asking KingVictor Emmanuel III to resume his full constitutional authority. The resolution, voted at 2:00 on 25 July, passed by a vote of 19 to 8, with one abstention, effectively removing Mussolini from office. Those leading government figures who had voted for the resolution includedGiuseppe Bottai andEmilio De Bono as well as Grandi. The King had Mussolini arrested the same day. Grandi also negotiated a truce with the left-wing movements, notably with the trade unions (grouped in theConfederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro), which gave way to theItalian resistance movement againstNazi Germany.[citation needed]
While theAllies occupied the south, an alternate Fascist government was established in Northern Italy as theItalian Social Republic. It sentenced Grandi to deathin absentia for treason in theVerona trial that took place from 8 to 10 January 1944. Grandi, however, had made sure to flee toFrancisco Franco's Spain in August 1943. He lived there, then inPortugal (1943–1948),Argentina,[4] and thenSão Paulo, Brazil, until he returned to Italy in the 1960s; he died inBologna.[5]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs 1929–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies 1939–1943 | Succeeded by |
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