Giuseppe Gorla (1895–1979) was an Italian civil engineer and politician who was a member of the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party (, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of It ...

. Between 1940 and 1943 he served as the

minister of public works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

Early life and education

Gorla was born in Vernate on 6 September 1895. He studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia (, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; ) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest un ...

. During his studies he was among the contributors of ''

Il Popolo d'Italia ''Il Popolo d'Italia'' (; ) was an Italian newspaper published from 15 November 1914 until 24 July 1943. It was founded by Benito Mussolini as a pro-war newspaper during World War I, and it later became the main newspaper of the Fascist movemen ...

''. Gorla joined the

Italian army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

and fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was badly wounded and had to leave the army due to his disability occurred as a result of his injuries.

Career

Following his return Gorla joined the National Association of the Mutilated and Disabled of War which was affiliated with the fascist movement. He began to work at the

Polytechnic University of Milan The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a university in Milan, Italy. It is the largest technical university in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher ...

as a faculty member. He left the academic career in 1922 when he was elected as city councillor in Milan. He was also named as the managing director of the publishing house. He participated various international meetings on urban planning in the mid-1920s. During this period he was the deputy mayor of Milan. He was a board member of the National Fascist Engineers Union (SNFI) of which he served as the secretary general between 1937 and 1938. In February 1939, as secretary general of the SNFI, Gorla joined the

Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Chamber of Fasces and Corporations () was the lower house of the legislature of the Kingdom of Italy from 23 March 1939 to 5 August 1943, during the height of the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party. History It was established on ...

. After shortly serving in the Italian army at beginning of World War II he was appointed minister of public works to the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

led by

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

on 30 October 1940, replacing Adelchi Serena in the post. Gorla's term ended on 6 February 1943 when he was replaced by

Zenone Benini Zenone Benini (19 October 1902 – 10 September 1976) was an Italian industrialist and Fascist politician who served as the last minister of public works of the Mussolini Cabinet. Biography Benini was born into a rich family of the Florentin ...

as minister of public works. Gorla was appointed national councilor for the Water Gas Electricity Corporation and a member of the Budget Committee of the Chamber immediately following the end of his ministerial tenure. In April 1943 he became president of the Italian general petroleum company (AGIP), and vice president of the national fuel hydrogenation company. He also served as the director of the Savings Bank of Milan. He maintained all these posts even after the end of Fascist rule and the establishment of a

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino ( , ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regim ...

on 25 July 1943. Gorla served in these posts until October 1943 when he was removed from the office.

Later years and death

Gorla was not subject to any legal process by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

and by the Italian authorities. In 1959 he published a book covering his memoirs entitled ''L’Italia nella seconda guerra mondiale. Diario di un milanese, ministro del re nel governo di Mussolini'' (Italian: ''Italy in the Second World War. Diary of a Milanese, minister of the king in the government of Mussolini''). He died in Milan on 15 January 1970.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorla, Giuseppe 20th-century Italian engineers 20th-century Italian journalists 1895 births 1970 deaths Italian civil engineers Italian male journalists Ministers of public works of Italy National Fascist Party politicians Mussolini Cabinet University of Pavia alumni Academic staff of the Polytechnic University of Milan Politicians of Lombardy Italian military personnel of World War I Italian military personnel of World War II Government ministers with disabilities Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations