Antonio Salandra

Salandra, Antonio 

Born Aug. 13, 1853, in Troia, Fog-gia; died Dec. 9, 1931, in Rome. Italian state and political figure. Right liberal. Lawyer and professor (University of Rome).

From 1886 to 1925, Salandra was a member of the Chamber of Deputies; he adhered to an emphatically conservative line. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, he was a member of a number of cabinets. In March 1914, after the liberal course directed by G. Giolitti failed and Giolitti retired, Salandra headed the government that proclaimed Italy’s neutrality in World War I. However, after diplomatic bargaining with both warring sides, Italy joined the Entente and declared war on Austria-Hungary. Salandra’s cabinet fell in June 1916, after the Austrian Army had broken through the front at Trentino and as a result of Salandra’s oposition to a declaration of war on Germany.

Salandra was a member of the Italian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919–20. He repeatedly declared his support of Italian fascism. In 1925 he joined the opposition. Salandra was made a senator in 1928.