Badoglio, Pietro (pyā`trō bädô`lyō), 1871–1956, Italian soldier and public official. After serving in World War I, he was governor of Libya (1929–33) and succeeded Gen. Emilio de Bono as commander in chief in the Ethiopian conquest, which he brought (1936) to a victorious end. Created duke of Addis Ababa, he was briefly viceroy of Ethiopia, then chief of the Italian general staff until 1940. After the fall of Mussolini, he was made (1943) premier by King Victor Emmanuel III. He negotiated an armistice with the Allies, whom he joined in the war against Germany. Meeting with much opposition in Italy, he resigned in 1944. He wrote Italy in the Second World War (tr. 1948).

Badoglio, Pietro

(born Sept. 28, 1871, Grazzano Monferrato, Italy—died Nov. 1, 1956, Grazzano Badoglio) Italian general and politician. An army officer, he served as chief of the general staff in 1919–21 and again in 1925–28 and was made a field marshal in 1926. He governed Libya (1928–34) and commanded the Italian forces in Ethiopia (1935–36). In 1940 he resigned as chief of staff in disagreement with Benito Mussolini, and in 1943 he helped organize Mussolini's downfall. As prime minister (1943–44), Badoglio extricated Italy from World War II by arranging for an armistice with the Allies.