Minister of the Navy
What was the position of Augusto Riboty from 1868 to Dec 1869?
Augusto Riboty Augusto Riboty ( Puget-Théniers , 29 November 1816 - Nice , 9 February 1888 ) was an Italian admiral and Minister of the Navy . Early life and career . Born in the County of Nice , he enrolled in 1830 in the Navy School of Genoa , graduating in 1835 . In 1848 he participated , on the brig Colombo , in the First Italian War of Independence ; he also saw service in the Crimean War while serving on the screw frigate Carlo Alberto . He took part in the Second War of Italian Independence as commander of the paddle sloop Monzambano . In 1860 , promoted to the rank of Capitano di Fregata of the newly born Regia Marina Italiana , Riboty was named head of the Navy School of Genoa , which he led until 1864 . He was afterwards promoted to Capitano di Vascello and served as chief of staff to the Squadra di Evoluzione ( Squadron of Evolution ) , the active squadron of the Italian Navy meant to provide experience and training with the new fleet-sized maneuvers ; as such , he participated in the multinational intervention in Tunisia in 1864 , protecting foreign property and subjects during a revolt . When the squadron was deactivated , he served again as head of the Genoese school , as well as that of Naples . In 1866 Riboty was named commander of the new ironclad screw frigate Re di Portogallo , in which he participated in the Third Italian War of Independence . At the Battle of Lissa , he gallantly led his ship , and inflicted serious damage to the screw ship of the line Kaiser ; his actions were praised by all his superiors , and he was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour . Promoted to Rear Admiral , he led the naval forces that contributed to the repression of a revolt in Palermo in September of the same year . Riboty took command of the active naval squadron in 1867 . Minister of the Navy . Riboty was appointed by Prime Minister Luigi Federico Menabrea as Minister of the Navy on January 1868 ; at the time , the Navy was suffering from the backlash of the defeat at Lissa and the precarious financial situation of Italy , resulting in considerable budget cuts which impaired naval buildings , the activity of the ships and the training . One of his first acts was to slash the plethoric number of admirals and high-ranking officers , putting several of them on the retired list ; to avoid controversy , he put himself on the retired list , thus ending his own career for the benefit of the Navy . With his experience as head of the naval schools , Riboty proposed the creation of a single Naval Academy ( a suggestion already put forward by Carlo Pellion di Persano ) , to address the regionalistic spirit that still lingered among the officers , and which had had negative effects at Lissa ; however , this was not followed through , and he only managed to unify the Genoese and Neapolitan schools as a single entity . An unified academy would be achieved only by Benedetto Brin in 1882 . He unsuccessfully attempted to put forward a proposal for an organic plan for the navy in 1869 , which was refused because of its costs ; he also founded the Rivista Marittima ( the still existing monthly journal of the Marina Militare ) , and in 1869 sent a squadron to the inauguration of the Suez Canal . When the Menabrea ministry ended in December 1869 , Riboty left his position as Minister , only to be reappointed by the new Prime Minister Giovanni Lanza on September 1871 . In December 1870 he was appointed a senator . His efforts to renovate the fleet bore fruit in 1872 , when the Parliament authorized new expenses for new ships ; in 1873 , the two revolutionary ironclad ships of the Caio Duilio-class , designed by Ribotys collaborator Benedetto Brin , were laid down . Later life and death . Riboty retired to private life . He died at Nice on 9 February 1888 . Legacy . An esploratore ( later reclassified destroyer ) of the Mirabello-class was named after Riboty ; it served on both World Wars , being scrapped in 1951 . References . - Mariano Gabriele , Augusto Riboty , Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare , 1999