Antonio Salandra (13 August 1853 – 9 December 1931) was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Italian politician who served as the 21st

prime minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

between 1914 and 1916. He ensured the entry of Italy in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

on the side of the

Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

(the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

) to fulfil Italy’s irredentist claims.

Early life and political career

Born in Troia (

Province of Foggia The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, and ...

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

), he graduated from the

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

in 1875 and then became instructor and later

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

at the University of Rome. He was Minister of Agriculture (1899–1900) in the conservative government of

Luigi Pelloux Luigi Gerolamo Pelloux ( La Roche-sur-Foron, 1 March 1839 – Bordighera, 26 October 1924) was an Italian general and politician, born of parents who retained their Italian nationality when Savoy was annexed to France. He was the Prime Minister o ...

and subsequently Minister of the Treasury (1906) and

Italian Minister of Finance This is a list of Italian Ministers of Finance, from 1861 to present. List of Ministers of Finance Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) ;Parties: *1861–1912: ** ** *1914–1922: ** ** ** ** ** *1922–1943: ** *1943–1946: ** ** ** ** ;Coalitions * ...

(1909–1910) in the governments of

Sidney Sonnino Sidney Costantino, Baron Sonnino (11 March 1847 – 24 November 1922) was an Italian statesman, 19th prime minister of Italy and twice served briefly as one, in 1906 and again from 1909 to 1910. In 1901, he founded a new major newspaper, ''Il Gior ...

.Salandra, Antonio
Enciclopedia Treccani

Prime Minister

In March 1914, the conservative Salandra was brought into the national cabinet upon the fall of the government of

Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. After Benito Mussolini, he is the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Italian history. A pr ...

, as the choice of Giolitti himself, who still commanded the support of most Italian parliamentarians. Salandra's government was the most conservative one that Italy had seen for a long time.Clark, ''Modern Italy: 1871 to the present''
p. 217
/ref> Salandra soon fell out with Giolitti over the question of Italian participation in

. At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Salandra declared that Italy would not commit its troops, maintaining that the Triple Alliance had only a defensive stance and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

had been the aggressor. In reality, both Salandra and his ministers of Foreign Affairs,

Antonino Paternò Castello Antonino may refer to: * Antonino (name), a given name and a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Antonino, Kansas, an unincorporated community in Ellis County, Kansas, United States See also * Antoniano (disambiguation) * Anto� ...

, who was succeeded by

in November 1914, began to probe which side would grant the best reward for Italy's entrance in the war and to fulfil Italy’s irredentist claims.Baker, Ray Stannard (1923). ''Woodrow Wilson and World Settlement, Volume I'', Doubleday, Page and Company
pp. 52–55
/ref>

Entering World War I

Salandra used the term "sacred egoism" (''sacro egoismo'') to define Italy's outlook on which side Italy would enter the war. Expecting the war would be short – over by the late summer of 1915 – there was some pressure on the decision to make.Clark, ''Modern Italy: 1871 to the present''
p. 219
/ref> Negotiations had been started between Sonnino, the British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey and the French Foreign Minister

Jules Cambon Jules-Martin Cambon (5 April 1845 – 19 September 1935) was a French diplomat and brother to Paul Cambon. As the ambassador to Germany (1907–1914) he worked hard to secure a friendly détente. He was frustrated by French leaders such as Raym ...

. The secret pact, the Treaty of London or London Pact ( it, Patto di Londra), was signed between the

(the

, and the

) and the Kingdom of Italy. According to the pact, Italy was to leave the Triple Alliance and join the Triple Entente. Italy was to declare war against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

within a month in return for territorial concessions at the end of the war. While Giolitti supported neutrality, Salandra and Sonnino, supported intervention on the side of the Allies, and secured Italy's entrance into the war despite the opposition of the majority in parliament. On 3 May 1915, Italy officially revoked the Triple Alliance. In the following days Giolitti and the neutralist majority of the Parliament opposed declaring war, while nationalist crowds demonstrated in public areas for entering the war. On 13 May 1915, Salandra offered his resignation, but Giolitti, fearful of nationalist disorder that might break into open rebellion, declined to succeed him as prime minister and Salandra's resignation was not accepted.Clark, ''Modern Italy: 1871 to the present''
p. 221-22
/ref> On 23 May 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. Salandra had expected that Italy's entrance on the allied side would bring the war to a quick solution, but in fact it changed little, and Italy's first year in the war was marked by only very limited success. Following the success of an Austrian offensive from the

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

in the spring of 1916, Salandra was forced to resign. After World War I, Salandra moved further to the right, and supported Mussolini's accession to power in 1922. Nine years later he died in Rome. He was awarded

Order of Karađorđe's Star The Order of Karađorđe's Star ( sr, Orden Karađorđeve zvezde, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Орден Карађорђеве звезде) is Serbia's highest civilian and military decoration. It originated in the Kingdom of Serbia, and was initial ...

Works

He is the author of a considerable number of works on economics, finance, history, law, and politics (

New International Encyclopedia ''The New International Encyclopedia'' was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the ''International Cyclopaedia'' (1884) and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926. History ''The New Intern ...

). These include: * ''Tratto della giustizia amministrativo'' (1904) * ''La politica nazionale e il partito liberale'' (1912) * ''Lezioni di diritto amministrativo'' (two volumes, 1912) * ''Politica e legislazione : saggi, raccolti da

Giustino Fortunato Giustino Fortunato (4 September 1848 – 23 July 1932) was an Italian historian and politician. Biography He was born in Rionero in Vulture (Basilicata), from a bourgeois family. His great-uncle Giustino Fortunato (1777-1862) was the prime minis ...

'' (1915) * ''Il discorso contro la malafede tedesca'' (1915) * ''Italy and the Great War: From Neutrality to Intervention'' (London: Edward Arnold, 1932),

References

External links