Grand Council of Fascism

The Grand Council of Fascism (Italian: Gran Consiglio del Fascismo) (aka:
Grand Council of Fascism
Fascist Grand Council) was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in
Italy. A body which held and applied great power to control the institutions of Gran Consiglio del Fascism

government, it was created as a party body in 1923 and became a state body on 9
December 1928. The council usually met at the Palazzo Venezia, Rome, which was
also the seat of head of the Italian government.[1]

Contents
Members of the Council
The Head of Government and Duce of Fascism
The Quadrumvirs
Parliament
President of the Senate
President of the Chamber of Deputies Coat of Arms
Ministers
Agriculture and Forestry
Abbreviation Grand Council
Corporations Formation 9 December 1928
Finance
Extinction 25 July 1943
Foreign Affairs
Interior Legal status Constitutional Body
Justice and Religious Affairs Headquarters Palazzo Venezia,
Press and Propaganda Rome
Public Education
King of Italy King Victor
President of the Royal Academy
Emmanuel III
President of the Special Court for the Defence of the State
*The Chief of Staff of the MVSN President Benito Mussolini
Other Posts
Powers of the Council
Overthrow of Mussolini
References
Further reading
See also

Members of the Council

Its members, selected among the party'sgerarchi, were as follows:

The Head of Government and Duce of Fascism

 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Benito Mussolini 9 December 25 July

Deposed
(1883–1945) 1928 1943

The Quadrumvirs

Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Italo Balbo 9 December 28 June

Died in Office
(1896–1940) 1928 1940

Michele Bianchi 9 December 3 February

Died in Office
(1883–1930) 1928 1930

Emilio De Bono 9 December 25 July

Aye
(1866–1944) 1928 1943

Cesare Maria De Vecchi 9 December 25 July

Aye
(1884–1959) 1928 1943

Parliament

President of the Senate

 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Tommaso Tittoni 9 December 29 January

Died in 1931
(1855–1931) 1928 1929

Luigi Federzoni 29 April 2 March

(1878–1967) 1929 1939

Giacomo Suardo 15 March 25 July

Abstention
(1883–1947) 1939 1943

President of the Chamber of Deputies

Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Antonio Casertano 9 December 29 January

Died in Office
(1863–1938) 1928 1929

Giovanni Giuriati 20 April 19 January

(1876–1970) 1929 1934

Costanzo Ciano 28 April 2 March

Died in Office
(1876–1939) 1934 1939

President of the Chamber of Fasci and Corporations

Costanzo Ciano 23 March 26 June

Died in Office
(1876–1939) 1939 1939

Dino Grandi 30 November 25 July

Aye
(1895–1988) 1939 1943

Ministers

Agriculture and Forestry

 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Giacomo Acerbo 9 December 24 January

(1888–1969) 1928 1935

Edmondo Rossoni 24 January 31 October

(1884–1965) 1935 1939

Giuseppe Tassinari 31 October 26 December

(1891–1944) 1939 1941

Carlo Pareschi 26 December 25 July

Aye
(1898–1944) 1941 1943

Corporations
 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Benito Mussolini 9 December 12 September

Prime Minister and Duce
(1883–1945) 1928 1929

Giuseppe Bottai 12 September 20 July

(1895–1959) 1929 1932

Benito Mussolini 20 July 11 June

Prime Minister and Duce
(1883–1945) 1932 1936

Ferruccio Lantini 11 June 31 October

(1886–1959) 1936 1939

Renato Ricci 31 October 6 February

(1896–1956) 1939 1943

Carlo Tiengo 6 February 19 April

(1882–1945) 1943 1943

Tullio Cianetti 19 April 25 July

Aye
(1899–1976) 1943 1943

Finance
 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Antonio Mosconi 9 December 20 July

(1866–1955) 1928 1932

Guido Jung 20 July 17 January

(1876–1949) 1932 1935

Paolo Thaon di Revel 17 January 6 February

(1888–1973) 1935 1943

Giacomo Acerbo 6 February 25 July

Aye
(1888–1969) 1943 1943

Foreign Affairs

Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Benito Mussolini 9 December 12 September

Prime Minister and Duce
(1883–1945) 1928 1929

Dino Grandi 12 September 20 July

(1895–1988) 1929 1932

Benito Mussolini 20 July 9 June

Prime Minister and Duce
(1883–1945) 1932 1936

Galeazzo Ciano 9 June 6 February

(1903–1944) 1936 1943

Benito Mussolini 6 February 25 July Prime Minister and Duce

(1883–1945) 1943 1943 Deposed

Interior
 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Benito Mussolini 9 December 25 July Prime Minister and Duce

(1883–1945) 1928 1943 Deposed

Justice and Religious Affairs

Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Alfredo Rocco 9 December 20 July

(1875–1935) 1928 1932

Grace and Justice

Pietro De Francisci 20 July 24 January

(1883–1971) 1932 1935

Arrigo Solmi 24 January 12 July

(1873–1944) 1935 1939

Dino Grandi 12 July 5 February

(1895–1988) 1939 1943

Alfredo De Marsico 5 February 25 July

Aye
(1888–1985) 1943 1943

Press and Propaganda

 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Galeazzo Ciano 23 June 11 June

(1903–1944) 1935 1936

Dino Alfieri 11 June 27 May

(1886–1966) 1936 1937

Minister of Popular Culture

Dino Alfieri 27 May 31 October

(1886–1966) 1937 1939

Alessandro Pavolini 31 October 6 February

(1903–1945) 1939 1943

Gaetano Polverelli 6 February 25 July

Nay
(1903–1945) 1943 1943

Public Education
 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Giuseppe Belluzzo 9 December 12 September

(1876–1952) 1928 1929

National Education

Balbino Giuliano 12 September 20 July

(1879–1958) 1929 1932

Francesco Ercole 20 July 24 January

(1884–1945) 1932 1935

Cesare Maria De Vecchi 24 January 15 November

(1884–1959) 1935 1936

Giuseppe Bottai 15 November 5 February

(1895–1959) 1936 1943

Giacomo Acerbo 5 February 25 July

Aye
(1888–1969) 1943 1943

President of the Royal Academy

 Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Tommaso Tittoni 28 October 16 September

(1855–1931) 1929 1930

Guglielmo Marconi 19 September 20 July

Died in Office
(1874–1937) 1930 1937

Gabriele D'Annunzio 12 November 1 March

Died in Office
(1863–1938) 1937 1938

Luigi Federzoni 21 April 25 July

Aye
(1878–1967) 1938 1943

President of the Special Court for the Defence of the State

Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Guido Cristini 9 December

(1895–1979) 1928 1932
Antonino Tringali-Casanova 25 July
Nay
(1888–1943) 1932 1943

*The Chief of Staff of the MVSN

Name
Portrait Term of office 25 July 1943 Motion
(Birth–Death)

Guido Cristini 9 December

(1895–1979) 1928 1932

Other Posts
The Presidents of the Corporations; Industrialists, Agriculture W
orkers, Industrial Workers, and Farmers. TheNobel
Physics laureate inventor-technologist Guglielmo Marconi was the President of the Academy of Italy , making him a
council member.
The Secretary of the National Fascist Party, who was also the secretary of the Council.
Various people chosen by Mussolini himself,who each held appointments of three-year durations.

Powers of the Council

Essentially, the council held these powers:

The power to elect the Fascist Party deputies, the nomination for the Party Secretary and other party leaders, the
approval of the party statutes and the power regarding the party's policy
.
 The power to elect theCrown's line of succession including the
choice of the heir to the throne, the right of the crown, the power to
choose possible successors to the Prime Minister , the power to
choose the function and membership of the Grand Council, the
Senate, the Chamber of Deputies (later theChamber of Fasci and
Corporations), the power to decide the rights and powers of the
Prime Minister, international Treaties, and foreign affairs.
The Grand Council meetings were convened by the Prime Minister himself, The session of the Grand Council of 9
and all decrees and laws could only be legalized after receiving his approval. May 1936, where the Empire was
In contrast to the Führerprinzip government model in Nazi Germany, the proclaimed.
Grand Council retained the power to recommend that the King of Italy remove
the Prime Minister from office. As all the former governing institutions had
been subordinated to the Fascist party, the Council was the only check on Mussolini's power
.

Overthrow of Mussolini
The Allies invaded Sicily in July 1943. Grand Council member Dino Grandi proposed a vote of no confidence in Mussolini as leader
of the Council and the party. A vote was held on the night of 24–25 July 1943 and passed with 19 votes for, 8 against and one
abstention. Among the 19 votes of no confidence were those of Mussolini's son-in-law Galeazzo Ciano, who had been former
minister of foreign affairs, and the influential marshal Emilio De Bono.

The following day King Victor Emmanuel met Mussolini and informed him that General Pietro Badoglio would lead Italy, as Prime
Minister. Mussolini was arrested immediately after the meeting.[2]

In September 1943 Mussolini was freed from imprisonment by the Germans and helped to regain power in northern Italy. He had
Ciano, De Bono and three others arrested and tried for treason on 8 January 1944 in Verona. They were executed by firing squad
three days later.[3][4]

References
1. "Gran consiglio del fascismo"(http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gran-consiglio-del-fascismo/). Enciclopedia on line
(in Italian). Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni reccani
T S.p.A. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
2. Shirer, William L. (1959). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich(https://books.google.de/books?id=6QngAAAAQBAJ&
pg=PA997) (2011 ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 997. ISBN 9781451642599. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
3. Bosworth, Richard J. B. (2010).Mussolini (https://books.google.de/books?id=9yzLAgAAQBAJ&pg=P
A16) (New ed.).
London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 16.ISBN 9780340981733. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
4. De Grand, Alexander J. (2000).Italian Fascism: Its Origins & Development(https://books.google.de/books?id=5m_o
Et7kNUgC&pg=PA136) (Third ed.). Lincoln, NV: University of Nebraska Press. p. 136. ISBN 0803266227. Retrieved
23 August 2017.

Further reading
2194 Days of War, Cesare Salmaggi & Alfredo Pallavisini (editors),Gallery Press, New York — ISBN 0831788852
(1977)

See also
Italian Fascism
Italian Parliament (1928–1939)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grand_Council_of_Fascism&oldid=852522207

"

This page was last edited on 29 July 2018, at 15:36(UTC).

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.