Salandra, Antonio

Salandra, Antonio (äntô`nyō sälän`drä), 1853–1931, Italian premier (1914–16). He entered parliament as a moderate conservative (1886), held various cabinet posts from 1891 to 1910, and succeeded Giolitti as premier in 1914. He initially declared Italian neutrality in World War I but undertook active military preparations. After the failure of his negotiations with Austria, he signed the Treaty of London (1915) with Great Britain, France, and Russia, denounced the Triple Alliance, and finally declared war on Austria. He resigned in 1916 after the Italian retreat in the Trentino. Salandra was a delegate at the Paris Peace Conference (1919) and was the Italian delegate to the League of Nations. He at first supported Fascism, but then opposed it. In 1928, however, he was made a senator.