Luigi Russo (

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, 28 September 1882 –

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 20 December 1964) was an Italian Fascist

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and civil servant, who served as Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

from 1939 to 1943. He was also Chief of Staff of the Volunteer Militia for National Security from 3 October 1935 to 3 November 1939.

Biography

He participated in the

First World War 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 ...

as a

Bersaglieri The Bersaglieri, singular Bersagliere, (, "sharpshooter") are a troop of marksmen in the Italian Army's infantry corps. They were originally created by General Alessandro La Marmora on 18 June 1836 to serve in the Royal Sardinian Army, whi ...

officer, with the rank of captain and later major, being wounded and twice awarded the

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia d'argento al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, ...

during the Tenth and

Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo The Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo was a World War I battle fought by the Italian and Austro-Hungarian Armies on the Italian Front between 18 August and 12 September 1917. Background On the Soča (Isonzo) River, Luigi Cadorna, the Italian Ch ...

. Having ended the war with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

, he was later a member of the National Directory of the National Veterans Association (of which he was later commissioner from 1925 to 1927). In 1922 he joined the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. Th ...

, with which he was elected to the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...

in 1924. From 6 February to 22 September 1927 he served as ''

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

'' (mayor) of

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

, then as

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

(from 16 September 1927 to 1 August 1932), La Spezia (1 August 1932–25 July 1935) and

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via ...

(25 July–4 October 1935). MVSN in piazza di Siena

In 1923 he became ''console'' (

) in the Volunteer Militia for National Security, then ''console generale'' (

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

) in 1929 and ''luogotenente generale'' (

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

) from January 1936; in 1935 he became Chief of Staff of the MVSN until 1939. He was also a member of the National Directorate of the PNF, and in 1939 he became a member of the

Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Chamber of Fasces and Corporations ( it, Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni) 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 Fas ...

. He was Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Mussolini Cabinet from 31 October 1939 to 6 February 1943, after which he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom. After the armistice of Cassibile he joined the Italian Social Republic, where he was commissioner of the National Veterans' Organisation. On 7 August 1944 he was referred to the High Court of Justice for Sanctions against Fascism, which on 22 March 1945 revoked his seat as senator; after the end of the war Russo appealed this sentence, but without success.Senato della Repubblica
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Luigi 1882 births 1964 deaths Mussolini Cabinet National Fascist Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Kingdom of Italy) Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Italian prefects Italian generals Blackshirts