Benedetto Cairoli (28 January 1825 – 8 August 1889) was an Italian

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 ...

Biography

Cairoli was born at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

, Lombardy. From 1848 until the completion of Italian unity in 1870, his whole activity was devoted to the ''

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

'', as Garibaldian officer, political refugee, anti-Austrian conspirator and deputy to parliament. He commanded a volunteer company under Garibaldi in 1859 and 1860, being wounded slightly at

Calatafimi Calatafimi-Segesta, commonly known as simply Calatafimi, is a small town in the province of Trapani, in Sicily, southern Italy. The full name of the municipality was created in 1997 and is meant to highlight the presence within its territory of th ...

and severely at Palermo in the latter year. In 1866, with the rank of colonel, he assisted Garibaldi in the campaign in the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...

, in 1867 fought at

Mentana Mentana is a town and ''comune'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It is located north-east of Rome and has a population of about 23,000. History Mentana's name in ...

, and in 1870 conducted the negotiations with Bismarck, during which the German chancellor is alleged to have promised Italy possession of

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 ...

and of her natural frontiers if the Democratic party could prevent an alliance between Victor Emmanuel and

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. The prestige personally acquired by Benedetto Cairoli was augmented by that of his four brothers, who fell during the wars of the ''Risorgimento'', and by the heroic conduct of their mother. His refusal of all compensation or distinction further endeared him to the Italian people. When in 1876 the Left came into power, Cairoli, then a deputy of sixteen years' standing, became parliamentary leader of his party.

Prime Minister of Italy; 1st term

After the fall of Depretis,

Nicotera Nicotera ( Calabrian: ; grc, Νικόπτερα, translit=Nikóptera) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Vibo Valentia, Calabria, southern Italy. History The origins of Nicòtera lie with the ancient Greek city of Medma, which ...

and Crispi, formed his first cabinet in March 1878 with a Francophile and

Irredentist Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent st ...

policy. After his marriage with the countess Elena Sizeo of Trent, he permitted the Irredentist agitation to carry the country to the verge of a war with Austria. General irritation was caused by his and Count Corti's policy of clean hands at the Berlin Congress, where Italy obtained nothing, while

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 ...

secured a European mandate to occupy

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. A few months later the attempt of

Giovanni Passannante Giovanni Passannante (; February 19, 1849 – February 14, 1910) was an Italian anarchist who attempted to assassinate king Umberto I of Italy, the first attempt against Savoy monarchy since its origins. Originally condemned to death, his sentence ...

to assassinate King Humbert at Naples (12 December 1878) caused his downfall, in spite of the courage displayed and the severe wound received by him in protecting the king's person on that occasion.

Prime Minister of Italy; 2nd term

On 3 July 1879 Cairoli returned to power, and in the following November formed with Depretis a coalition ministry, in which he retained the premiership and the foreign office. Confidence in French assurances, and belief that

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

would never permit the extension of French influence in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, prevented him from foreseeing the French occupation of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

(11 May 1881). In view of popular indignation he resigned in order to avoid making inopportune declarations to the chamber.

Later life

Thenceforward he practically disappeared from political life. In 1887 he received the knighthood of the Annunziata, the highest Italian decoration, and on 8 August 1889 died while a guest of King Umberto in the royal

palace of Capodimonte The Royal Palace of Capodimonte ( it, Reggia di Capodimonte) is a large palazzo in Naples, Italy. It was formerly the summer residence and Jagdschloss, hunting lodge of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon kings of the Two Sicilies, one of the two royal ...

near Naples. Cairoli was one of the most conspicuous representatives of that type of Italian public men who, having conspired and fought for a generation in the cause of national unity, were despite their valour little fitted for the responsible parliamentary and official positions they subsequently attained; and who by their ignorance of foreign affairs and of internal administration unwittingly impeded the political development of their country.

Biography

Prime Minister of Italy; 1st term

Prime Minister of Italy; 2nd term

Later life

References

Further reading