Antonio Stefano Benni (18 April 1880 – 27 December 1945) was an Italian entrepreneur and politician who served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

General Confederation of Italian Industry The General Confederation of Italian Industry ( it, Confederazione generale dell'industria italiana), commonly known as Confindustria, is the Italian employers' federation and national chamber of commerce, founded in 1910. It groups together more ...

from 1923 until 1934.

Biography

His father, a financial intendant, died before his birth. he spent his childhood first in

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

and then, until 1883, in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. In 1894, forced by family needs to interrupt his studies, Due to financial hardship, in 1894 he stopped his studies and went to work as an apprentice for

Ercole Marelli Ercole Marelli (Milan, 19 May 1867 - Tremezzina, 28 August 1922 ) was an Italian engineer and entrepreneur. Biography Marelli was born in Milan on May 19, 1867, the son of a craftsman from the Como area. At fifteen he began working as an apprenti ...

. Marelli produced small electrical and mechanical equipment, and from 1896 embarked on the path of production specialization with the manufacture of electric fans. This choice decreed the success of the company and its rapid dimensional growth: Marelli was responsible for the technical aspects of production, while the young Benni soon took charge of the organizational and commercial management. In order to guarantee a large market and create an efficient network of representatives, starting from 1900 he made numerous trips to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. In a few years, Marelli's sales could be considerably on the domestic and foreign markets and in 1905 Marelli and Benni decided to leave the city workshop to design and build, in seven months, a large factory in

Sesto San Giovanni Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=Western Lombard ), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost s ...

(Milan). The world conflict determined a further increase in the activities of Marelli which, in 1915, started the production of magnets. In 1919 Benni, together with Marelli and

Giovanni Agnelli Giovanni Agnelli (13 August 1866 – 16 December 1945) was an Italian businessman, who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899. Early life The son of Edoardo Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, he was born in 1866 in Villar Perosa, a small town near ...

, established the Fabbrica Italiana Magneti Marelli, whose capital was paid in equal parts by

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

and Marelli. In 1922 Ercole Marelli died and his son Fermo took over the property. Benni assumed the presidency of the company and held the position from 1922 to 1935, when Fermo Marelli took over. He later covered several prestigious positions in prestigious banks, companies and corporations. In the first post-war period he was made a Knight of labor. He was member of the Higher Council of Economy and Labor and in 1921 he was elected Deputy 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 Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

. In 1923 he was called to the presidency of

Confindustria The General Confederation of Italian Industry ( it, Confederazione generale dell'industria italiana), commonly known as Confindustria, is the Italy, Italian employers' federation and national chamber of commerce, founded in 1910. It groups togeth ...

, a role he left to

Alberto Pirelli Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic ''Albert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The diminutive forms are ''Albertito'' in Spain or ''Albertico'' in some parts of Latin America, Albertin ...

in 1934. Also in 1923 he participated in

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

's political campaign carried out by the industrialists, who self-taxed themselves in the measure of 2 per thousand of the capital of their companies to favor the propaganda operations of the nascent regime; also for this operation he was one of deputies elected with the Fascist list in 1924. In 1929 he was included again in the fascist list which was elected by popular

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. Starting from 24 January 1935, Benni held the position of Minister of Communications on behalf of the fascist government of Benito Mussolini. Benni remained in that role until 31 October 1939. In the last years of his life he reduced his political activity. After 8 September he refused to join the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

and indeed, on the night of 20 August 1944, while he was in

Stresa Stresa is a town and ''comune'' of about 4,600 residents on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, about northwest of Milan. It is situated on road and rail routes to the Simpl ...

, he was arrested together with his wife by fascist agents under the orders of the prefect of

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

. Taken to the local town hall, he was brutally beaten, then locked up in the prisons of the castle of

. Benni claimed he never knew exactly why he arrested him; he believed, however, that they wanted to force him to give his adhesion to the Fascist Republic. He was released after about a month. On April 27, 1945, the

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee ( it, Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against Nazi Germany’s forces during the German occup ...

of Upper Italy (C.L.N.A.I.), broadcasting from the microphones of Radio Milano Libertà, included his name among the arrest orders issued with its first executive decree. To escape both the persecution of fascist agents and the threats of anti-fascist partisans, Benni emigrated to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

before the end of the conflict. He died in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

on 27 December 1945.

External links

Antonio Stefano Benni, Treccani.itAntonio Stefano Benni, SAN - Portale degli archivi d'impresa
1880 births 1945 deaths People from Cuneo National Fascist Party politicians Government ministers of Italy Mussolini Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XXVI of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVIII of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXIX of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Politicians of Piedmont {{Italy-bio-stub