Giovanni Giolitti

Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti in 1920
Prime Minister of Italy
In office
15 June 1920 – 4 July 1921
MonarchVictor Emmanuel III
Preceded byFrancesco Saverio Nitti
Succeeded byIvanoe Bonomi
In office
30 March 1911 – 21 March 1914
MonarchVictor Emmanuel III
Preceded byLuigi Luzzatti
Succeeded byAntonio Salandra
In office
29 May 1906 – 11 December 1909
MonarchVictor Emmanuel III
Preceded bySidney Sonnino
Succeeded bySidney Sonnino
In office
3 November 1903 – 12 March 1905
MonarchVictor Emmanuel III
Preceded byGiuseppe Zanardelli
Succeeded byTommaso Tittoni
In office
15 May 1892 – 15 December 1893
MonarchUmberto I
Preceded byMarchese di Rudinì
Succeeded byFrancesco Crispi
Minister of the Interior
In office
15 June 1920 – 4 July 1921
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byFrancesco Saverio Nitti
Succeeded byIvanoe Bonomi
In office
30 March 1911 – 21 March 1914
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byLuigi Luzzatti
Succeeded byAntonio Salandra
In office
3 November 1903 – 12 March 1905
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byGiuseppe Zanardelli
Succeeded byTommaso Tittoni
In office
15 February 1901 – 20 June 1903
Prime MinisterGiuseppe Zanardelli
Preceded byGiuseppe Saracco
Succeeded byGiuseppe Zanardelli
In office
15 May 1892 – 15 December 1893
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byGiovanni Nicotera
Succeeded byFrancesco Crispi
Minister of the Navy
In office
3 September 1903 – 9 November 1903
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byEnrico Morin
Succeeded byCarlo Mirabello
Minister of Finance
In office
14 September 1890 – 10 December 1890
Prime MinisterFrancesco Crispi
Preceded byFederico Seismit-Doda
Succeeded byBernardino Grimaldi
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
29 May 1881 – 17 July 1928
ConstituencyPiedmont
Personal details
Born(1842-10-27)27 October 1842
Mondovì, Kingdom of Sardinia
Died17 July 1928(1928-07-17) (aged 85)
Cavour, Piedmont,
Kingdom of Italy
Political partyHistorical Left
(1882–1913)
Liberal Union
(1913–1922)
Italian Liberal Party
(1922–1926)
Spouse(s)
Rosa Sobrero
​
(m. 1869⁠–⁠1921)​
; her death
Children7; including Enrichetta
Alma materUniversity of Turin
Profession
Signature

Giovanni Giolitti (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni dʒoˈlitti]; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the prime minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. He is the longest-serving democratically elected prime minister in Italian history, and the second-longest serving overall after Benito Mussolini. A prominent leader of the Historical Left and the Liberal Union, he is widely considered one of the most wealthy, powerful and important politicians in Italian history; due to his dominant position in Italian politics, Giolitti was accused by critics of being an authoritarian leader and a parliamentary dictator.[1]

Giolitti was a master in the political art of trasformismo, the method of making a flexible, centrist coalition of government which isolated the extremes of the Left and the Right in Italian politics after the unification. Under his influence, the Liberals did not develop as a structured party and were a series of informal personal groupings with no formal links to political constituencies.[2] The period between the start of the 20th century and the start of World War I, when he was prime minister and Minister of the Interior from 1901 to 1914, with only brief interruptions, is often referred to as the "Giolittian Era".[3][4]

A centrist liberal,[3] with strong ethical concerns,[5] Giolitti's periods in office were notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive social reforms which improved[citation needed] the living standards of ordinary Italians, together with the enactment of several policies of government intervention.[4][6][7] Besides putting in place several tariffs, subsidies, and government projects, Giolitti also nationalized the private telephone and railroad operators. Liberal proponents of free trade criticized the "Giolittian System", although Giolitti himself saw the development of the national economy as essential in the production of wealth.[8]

The primary focus of Giolittian politics was to rule from the centre with slight and well-controlled fluctuations between conservatism and progressivism, trying to preserve the institutions and the existing social order.[9] Right-wing critics like Luigi Albertini considered him a socialist due to the courting of socialist and leftist votes in parliament in exchange for political favours, while left-wing critics like Gaetano Salvemini accused him of being a corrupt politician and of winning elections with the support of criminals.[6][9][10] Nonetheless, his highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate among writers and historians.[11]

  1. ^ La dittatura parlamentare di Giolitti, Tesi Online
  2. ^ Amoore, The Global Resistance Reader, p. 39
  3. ^ a b Barański & West, The Cambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture, p. 44
  4. ^ a b Killinger, The History of Italy, p. 127–28
  5. ^ Coppa 1970
  6. ^ a b Sarti, Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present, pp. 46–48
  7. ^ Health and Healthcare Policy in Italy Since 1861 A Comparative Approach By Francesco Taroni, 2022, P.22
  8. ^ Coppa 1971
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference grand4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Il ministro della malavita" di G. Salvemini
  11. ^ "Il potere alla volontà della nazione: eredità di Giovanni Giolitti". Archived from the original on 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2017-02-13.