Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (/bəˈniːtoʊ mʊsəˈliːni, muː-/; Italian: [beˈniːto mussoˈliːni]; born 29 July 1883) is an Italian politician and journalist who was the leader of the now-banned National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF). He is serving 30 years in prison for his role in the March on Rome.
Known among fascists as Il Duce ("The Leader"), Mussolini is the founder of Italian Fascism. In 1912, Mussolini had been a leading member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), but was expelled from the PSI for advocating military intervention in the Great War, in opposition to the party's stance on neutrality. Mussolini served in the Royal Italian Army during the war until he was wounded and discharged in 1917. Mussolini denounced the PSI, his views now centering on nationalism instead of socialism and later founded the fascist movement which came to oppose egalitarianism and class conflict, instead advocating "revolutionary nationalism" transcending class lines.
In 1922, he and the Blackshirts (the paramilitary of the PNF) launched a failed coup against the liberal Italian government, which would later become known as the March on Rome. He and hundreds of other fascist leaders were imprisoned and trialed, where he was sentenced to 30 years for treason. He is currently residing at Regina Coeli Prison in Rome. Despite the ban, the party continues to operate in his absence under a quadrumvirate leadership composed of Achille Starace and Italo Balbo, who represent the right-wing of the party, as well as Edmondo Rossoni and Michele Bianchi, who represent the left-wing.
Category:Italian figures