Giuseppe "Pino" Romualdi' (24 July 1913 – 21 May 1988) was an Italian right-wing politician who served both the

Republican Fascist Party The Republican Fascist Party ( it, Partito Fascista Repubblicano, PFR) was a political party in Italy led by Benito Mussolini during the German occupation of Central and Northern Italy and was the sole legal and ruling party of the Italian Socia ...

(PFR) and the Italian Social Movement (MSI). He was the subject of frequent rumours that he was the biological son of Benito Mussolini, although no proof has been given. Romualdi himself, who was from the same village as Mussolini, encouraged the rumour.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...

'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 328

Biography

Before World War II

Romualdi was born in

Predappio Predappio (; rgn, La Pré or ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in the region of Emilia-Romagna in Italy, with a population of 6,135 as of 1 January 2021. The town is best known for being the birthplace of Benito Mussol ...

, near

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 ...

, the same

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

of Mussolini. He took a ''

laurea In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremony ...

'' in political science, serving as secretary of the ''Gruppi universitari fascisti'' in

from 1936 to 1938, and then worked as a journalist. He also served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies under the Fascist regime. Romualdi served as a soldier in the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

in the campaigns in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, where he was an infantry captain. He returned to Italy in 1943 and became more prominent in political life with the foundation of the Italian Social Republic in 1943. Here he served as a delegate to the 1943 Congress of Verona and edited the ''Gazzetta di Parma'' newspaper. Shortly before the collapse of the Republic he was appointed vice-president of the PFR.Rees, p. 329

Post World War II

Romualdi was one of the fascist contingent captured by

Urbano Lazzaro Urbano Lazzaro (November 4, 1924 – January 3, 2006) was an Italian resistance fighter who played an important role in capturing Benito Mussolini near the end of World War II. Lazzaro was born in Quinto Vicentino in the Veneto region. As ...

's partisans at

Dongo, Lombardy Dongo (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy. It lies on the northwestern shore of Lake Como between Gravedona and Musso at the mouth of the Albano. It is north of Milan and about northeast of Com ...

in April 1945. However he managed to escape capture and was sentenced to death in absentia. As a fugitive he became involved in terrorist activity and in 1946 was a founder of the

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration s ...

Fasci di Azione Rivoluzionaria. However he left this movement, along with his close ally

Pino Rauti Giuseppe Umberto "Pino" Rauti (19 November 1926 – 2 November 2012) was an Italian fascist and politician who was a leading figure on the radical right for many years, although Rauti was describing himself as a "leftist" and "non-fascist." Invo ...

at the end of the same year to become a leading figure in the new Italian Social Movement. Captured in 1948 his sentence was reduced to four years imprisonment and he was released in 1951, returning to his role as deputy secretary of the MSI. He would go on to become associated with the 'liberal' wing of the party that helped to secure the leadership for Giorgio Almirante. He again served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1953 to 1979 and then in the Italian Senate from 1983 to 1987. He also edited the journals ''Lotta Politica'', ''Il Popolo Italiano'' and ''Ardito'' at various times and as MSI deputy secretary oversaw the modernisation of the party's internal structure and played a leading role in drafting their nine-point programme in 1967.

European Parliament

Romualdi was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

at the 1979 election and held his seat until his death. He became a leading figure within the far right, serving as vice chair of the Group of the European Right from 1984-1988. He was particularly prominent as a member of the

European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET, after the French name ‘Affaires étrangères’), previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament. It is responsible for the common foreign, security, and defence policy of t ...

. Romualdi died in

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 ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 21 May 1988, on the same weekend as his former colleagues and fellow Italian Fascist leaders

Dino Grandi Dino Grandi (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), 1st Conte di Mordano, was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of parliament. Early life Born at Mordano, province of Bologna, Grandi was ...

and Giorgio Almirante. Like Romualdi, Grandi died on 21 May 1988, and Almirante died the following day.Dino Grandi profile
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romualdi, Pino 1913 births 1988 deaths People from Predappio Italian neo-fascists Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War People of the Italian Social Republic Deaths from cancer in Lazio Italian Social Movement MEPs MEPs for Italy 1979–1984 MEPs for Italy 1984–1989 Italian male journalists People sentenced to death in absentia 20th-century Italian journalists 20th-century Italian male writers