BENITO MUSSOLINI, (1883-1945), Fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He centralized all power in himself as
the leader (il duce) of
the Fascist party and attempted to create an
Italian empire, ultimately in alliance with HITLER's Germany.
The defeat of
Italian arms in WORLD WAR II brought an end to his imperial dream and led to his downfall.
Mussolini was born in Predappio, near Forli, in Romagna, on July 29, 1883. His fa
ther, Alessandro, was a blacksmith, and his mo
ther, Rosa, was a schoolteacher. Like his fa
ther, Benito became a fervent socialist. He qualified as an elementary schoolmaster in 1901. In 1902 he emigrated to Switzerland. Unable to find a permanent
job there and arrested for vagrancy, he was expelled and returned to Italy to do his military service. After fur
ther trouble with
the police, he joined
the staff of a newspaper in
the Austrian town of Trento in 1908.
His early enthusiasm for Karl Marx was modified by a mixture of ideas from
the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche,
the revolutionary doctrines of Auguste Blanqui, and
the syndicalism of Georges Sorel. In 1910, Mussolini became secretary of
the local Socialist party at Forli.
When World War I broke out in 1914, Mussolini agreed with
the o
ther Socialists that Italy should not join it. Only a class war was acceptable to him, and he threatened to lead a proletarian revolution if
the government decided to fight. But several months later he unexpectedly changed his position on
the war, leaving
the Socialist party and his editorial chair.
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