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| First Marshal of the Empire Primo Maresciallo dell'Impero | |
|---|---|
.png) Sleeve insignia | |
| Country |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Formation | 2 April 1938 |
| Abolished | 2 June 1946 |
| Next lower rank | Marshal of Italy |
First Marshal of the Empire (Italian:Primo Maresciallo dell'Impero) was amilitary rank established by theItalian Parliament on March 30, 1938. Thehighest rank in theItalian military, it was only granted toKingVictor Emmanuel III andDuceBenito Mussolini.
Mussolini's decision to create for himself and the King a new military rank created a crisis between himself and Victor Emmanuel III. For the first time in the history of theHouse of Savoy, thePrime Minister of Italy bore a rank equal with that of the head of the royal house. This gave Mussolini a mortgage on the high command of the Italian military, a power of the King under the provisions of theAlbertine Statute. The King consideredvetoing the law that created such rank and requested to be advised by ProfessorSanti Romano, President of theCouncil of State, who analyzed the law and found it to comply with the Statute; Victor Emmanuel vehemently protested against Romano's opinion, calling him "a pusillanimous opportunist whose job is to find arguments to justify the most absurd theses",[1] but eventually signed the law and had it promulgated on theGazzetta Ufficiale.[2]
The title became obsolete with thefall of the Fascist regime in 1943 and was implicitly abrogated by the subsequentabolition of the monarchy in 1946 and the entry into force of theItalian Constitution in 1948.
The law establishing it was formally abolished on 22 December 2008 by theFourth Berlusconi Cabinet.[3]