Francesco Crispi

Francesco Crispi
Prime Minister of Italy
In office
15 December 1893 – 10 March 1896
MonarchUmberto I
Preceded byGiovanni Giolitti
Succeeded byAntonio Starabba
In office
29 July 1887 – 6 February 1891
MonarchUmberto I
Preceded byAgostino Depretis
Succeeded byAntonio Starabba
President of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
26 November 1876 – 26 December 1877
Preceded byGiuseppe Branchieri
Succeeded byBenedetto Cairoli
Minister of the Interior
In office
15 December 1893 – 9 March 1896
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byGiovanni Giolitti
Succeeded byAntonio Starabba
In office
4 April 1887 – 6 February 1891
Prime MinisterAgostino Depretis
Himself
Preceded byAgostino Depretis
Succeeded byGiovanni Nicotera
In office
26 December 1877 – 7 March 1878
Prime MinisterAgostino Depretis
Preceded byGiovanni Nicotera
Succeeded byAgostino Depretis
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
29 July 1887 – 6 February 1891
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byAgostino Depretis
Succeeded byAntonio Starabba
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
18 February 1861 – 2 March 1897
ConstituencyCastelvetrano (1861–1870)
Tricarico (1870–1880)
Palermo (1880–1897)
Personal details
Born(1818-10-04)4 October 1818
Ribera, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Died11 August 1901(1901-08-11) (aged 82)
Naples, Kingdom of Italy
NationalityItalian
Political partyHistorical Left
(1848–1883; 1886–1901)
Dissident Left
(1883–1886)
Spouses
Rosina D'Angelo
(m. 1837; died 1839)
Rosalia Montmasson
(m. 1854; div. 1878)
Lina Barbagallo
(m. 1878)
RelationsGiuseppe Crispi (Uncle)
Children3
ParentTommaso Crispi (Father)
Alma materUniversity of Palermo
Profession

Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architects of Italian unification in 1860.[1] Crispi served as Prime Minister of Italy for six years, from 1887 to 1891, and again from 1893 to 1896, and was the first prime minister from Southern Italy. Crispi was internationally famous and often mentioned along with world statesmen such as Otto von Bismarck, William Ewart Gladstone, and Lord Salisbury.[1]

Originally an Italian patriot and democrat liberal, Crispi went on to become a bellicose authoritarian prime minister and an ally and admirer of Bismarck. He was indefatigable in stirring up hostility toward France.[2] His career ended amid controversy and failure: he got involved in a major banking scandal and fell from power in 1896 after the devastating loss of the Battle of Adwa, which repelled Italy's colonial ambitions over Ethiopia. Due to his authoritarian policies and style, Crispi is often regarded as a strongman and seen as a precursor of the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.[1][3]

  1. ^ a b c Nation-building in 19th-century Italy: the case of Francesco Crispi[permanent dead link], Christopher Duggan, History Today, 1 February 2002
  2. ^ Elizabeth Brett White (1917). The Foreign Policy of Francesco Crispi. PhD dissertation U of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 75.
  3. ^ The Randolph Churchill of Italy, by David Gilmour, The Spectator, 1 June 2002 (Review of Francesco Crispi, 1818-1901: From Nation to Nationalism, by Christopher Duggan)