page_title: Francesco Crispi
section_title: First term as Prime Minister
hierarchical_section_title: Francesco Crispi / First term as Prime Minister
caption_attribution_description: Francesco Crispi. Prime Minister of Italy. From a photograph taken in 1887 Русский: Криспи, Франческо (1819—1901) — итальянский политик.
context_page_description: Francesco Crispi was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Italian Risorgimento and a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architects of the unification of Italy in 1860.
  Crispi served as Italy's Prime Minister for six years, from 1887 until 1891 and again from 1893 until 1896; he was the first Prime Minister from Southern Italy. Crispi was internationally famous and often mentioned along with world statesmen such as Bismarck, Gladstone and Salisbury.
  Originally an enlightened Italian patriot and democrat liberal he went on to become a bellicose authoritarian Prime Minister and ally and admirer of Bismarck. He was indefatigable in stirring up hostility toward France. 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 fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
context_section_description: On 29 July 1887, Francesco Crispi sworn in as new Prime Minister. He was the first one from Southern Italy. Crispi immediately distinguished himself, for being a reformist leader, but his political style caused lots of protests from his opponents, who accused him of being an authoritarian Prime Minister and a strongman.
  True to his initial progressive leanings he moved ahead with stalled reforms, abolishing the death penalty, revoking anti-strike laws, limiting police powers, reforming the penal code and the administration of justice with the help of his Minister of Justice Giuseppe Zanardelli, reorganising charities and passing public health laws and legislation to protect emigrants that worked abroad. He sought popular support for the state with a programme of orderly development at home and expansion abroad.
caption: A portrait of Crispi in 1887
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