Vittorio Emanuele Orlando
Encyclopedia
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (May 19, 1860 – December 1, 1952) was an Italian
diplomat and political figure. He was born in Palermo
, Sicily
. His father, a landed gentleman, delayed venturing out to register his son's birth for fear of Giuseppe Garibaldi
's 1,000 patriots who had just stormed into Sicily on the first leg of their march to build an Italian nation.
In 1897 he was elected in the Italian Chamber of Deputies
for the district of Partinico
for which he was constantly reelected until 1925. He aligned himself with Giovanni Giolitti
, who was Prime Minister of Italy
five times between 1892 and 1921.
Aside from his prominent political role Orlando is also known for his writings, over a hundred works, on legal and judicial issues; Orlando was himself a professor of law.
until his appointment as Minister of the Interior in June 1916 under Paolo Boselli
.
After the Italian military disaster in World War I
at Caporetto
on October 25, 1917, which led to the fall of the Boselli government, Orlando became Prime Minister, and continued in that role through the rest of the war. He had been a strong supporter of Italy's entry in the war. Orlando was encouraged in his support of the Allies because of secret promises made by the latter promising significant Italian territorial gains in Dalmatia
(at the 1915 London Pact
).
The Italians later won the Battle of Vittorio Veneto
in November 1918, a feat that coincided with the collapse of Austro-Hungarian Army
and the end of the First World War on the Italian Front, as well as the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The fact that Italy recovered and ended up on the winning side in 1918 earned for Orlando the title "Premier of Victory."
in 1919, Orlando's inability to speak English and his weak political position at home allowed the conservative foreign minister, the half-Welsh
Sidney Sonnino
, to play a dominant role.
Their differences proved to be disastrous during the negotiations. Orlando was prepared to renounce territorial claims for Dalmatia to annex Rijeka
(or Fiume as the Italians called the town) - the principal seaport on the Adriatic Sea
- while Sonnino was not prepared to give up Dalmatia. Italy ended up claiming both and got none, running up against U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
's policy of national self-determination. Orlando supported the Racial Equality Proposal
introduced by Japan at the conference.
Orlando dramatically left the conference early in April 1919. He returned briefly the following month, but was forced to resign just days before the signing of the resultant Treaty of Versailles
. The fact he was not a signatory to the treaty became a point of pride for him later in his life. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau
dubbed him "The Weeper," and Orlando himself recalled proudly: "When ... I knew they would not give us what we were entitled to ... I writhed on the floor. I knocked my head against the wall. I cried. I wanted to die."
His political position was seriously undermined by his failure to secure Italian interests at the Paris Peace Conference. Orlando resigned on 23 June 1919, following his inability to acquire Fiume
for Italy in the peace settlement. In December 1919 he was elected president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
, but never again served as prime minister.
seized power in 1922, Orlando initially supported him, but broke with Il Duce over the murder of Giacomo Matteotti
in 1924. After that he abandoned politics, in 1925 he resigned from the Chamber of Deputies, until in 1935 Mussolini's march into Ethiopia
stirred Orlando's nationalism. He reappeared briefly in the political spotlight when he wrote Mussolini a fan letter.
In 1944, he made something of a political comeback. With the fall of Mussolini, Orlando became leader of the Conservative Democratic Union. He was elected speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
, where he served until 1946. In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Italy
. In 1948 he was nominated senator for life
, and was a candidate for the presidency of the republic (elected by Parliament) but was defeated by Luigi Einaudi
. He died in 1952 in Rome
.
and mafiosi from beginning to end of his long parliamentary career. The Mafia pentito
– a state witness – Tommaso Buscetta
claimed that Orlando actually was a member of the Mafia, a man of honour, himself. In Partinico he was supported by the Mafia boss Frank Coppola
who had been deported back to Italy from the US.
In 1925, Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being mafioso:
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
diplomat and political figure. He was born in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. His father, a landed gentleman, delayed venturing out to register his son's birth for fear of Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
's 1,000 patriots who had just stormed into Sicily on the first leg of their march to build an Italian nation.
In 1897 he was elected in the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
for the district of Partinico
Partinico
Partinico is a town and comune in the province of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy...
for which he was constantly reelected until 1925. He aligned himself with Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti was an Italian statesman. He was the 19th, 25th, 29th, 32nd and 37th Prime Minister of Italy between 1892 and 1921. A left-wing liberal, Giolitti's periods in office were notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive social reforms which improved the living standards of...
, who was Prime Minister of Italy
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
five times between 1892 and 1921.
Aside from his prominent political role Orlando is also known for his writings, over a hundred works, on legal and judicial issues; Orlando was himself a professor of law.
Minister and Prime Minister
A liberal, Orlando served in various roles as a minister. In 1903 he served as Minister of Education under Prime Minister Giolitti. In 1907 he was appointed Minister of Justice, a role he retained until 1909. He was re-appointed to the same ministry in November 1914 in the government of Antonio SalandraAntonio Salandra
Antonio Salandra was a conservative Italian politician who served as the 33rd Prime Minister of Italy between 1914 and 1916...
until his appointment as Minister of the Interior in June 1916 under Paolo Boselli
Paolo Boselli
Paolo Boselli was an Italian politician who served as the 34th Prime Minister of Italy during World War I.Boselli was born in Savona, Liguria....
.
After the Italian military disaster in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
at Caporetto
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto , took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid , on the Austro-Italian front of World War I...
on October 25, 1917, which led to the fall of the Boselli government, Orlando became Prime Minister, and continued in that role through the rest of the war. He had been a strong supporter of Italy's entry in the war. Orlando was encouraged in his support of the Allies because of secret promises made by the latter promising significant Italian territorial gains in Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
(at the 1915 London Pact
London Pact
London Pact , or more correctly, the Treaty of London, 1915, was a secret pact between Italy and Triple Entente, signed in London on 26 April 1915 by the Kingdom of Italy, Great Britain, France and Russia....
).
The Italians later won the Battle of Vittorio Veneto
Battle of Vittorio Veneto
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought between 24 October and 3 November 1918, near Vittorio Veneto, during the Italian Campaign of World War I...
in November 1918, a feat that coincided with the collapse of Austro-Hungarian Army
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
and the end of the First World War on the Italian Front, as well as the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The fact that Italy recovered and ended up on the winning side in 1918 earned for Orlando the title "Premier of Victory."
Paris Peace Conference 1919
Although, as prime minister, he was the head of the Italian delegation at the Paris Peace ConferenceParis Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
in 1919, Orlando's inability to speak English and his weak political position at home allowed the conservative foreign minister, the half-Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
Sidney Sonnino
Sidney Sonnino
Baron Sidney Costantino Sonnino was an Italian politician.Sonnino was born in Pisa to an Italian father of Jewish heritage and a Welsh mother...
, to play a dominant role.
Their differences proved to be disastrous during the negotiations. Orlando was prepared to renounce territorial claims for Dalmatia to annex Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
(or Fiume as the Italians called the town) - the principal seaport on the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
- while Sonnino was not prepared to give up Dalmatia. Italy ended up claiming both and got none, running up against U.S. President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's policy of national self-determination. Orlando supported the Racial Equality Proposal
Racial Equality Proposal, 1919
The Racial Equality Proposal was a Japanese proposal for racial equality at the Paris Peace Conference.-The proposal:After the end of seclusion, Japan suffered unequal treaties and demanded equal status with the Powers. In this context, the Japanese delegation to the Paris peace conference proposed...
introduced by Japan at the conference.
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. The fact he was not a signatory to the treaty became a point of pride for him later in his life. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
dubbed him "The Weeper," and Orlando himself recalled proudly: "When ... I knew they would not give us what we were entitled to ... I writhed on the floor. I knocked my head against the wall. I cried. I wanted to die."
His political position was seriously undermined by his failure to secure Italian interests at the Paris Peace Conference. Orlando resigned on 23 June 1919, following his inability to acquire Fiume
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
for Italy in the peace settlement. In December 1919 he was elected president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
, but never again served as prime minister.
Supporting Mussolini
When Benito MussoliniBenito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
seized power in 1922, Orlando initially supported him, but broke with Il Duce over the murder of Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti
Giacomo Matteotti was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections, and denounced the violence they used to gain votes...
in 1924. After that he abandoned politics, in 1925 he resigned from the Chamber of Deputies, until in 1935 Mussolini's march into Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
stirred Orlando's nationalism. He reappeared briefly in the political spotlight when he wrote Mussolini a fan letter.
In 1944, he made something of a political comeback. With the fall of Mussolini, Orlando became leader of the Conservative Democratic Union. He was elected speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
, where he served until 1946. In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Italy
Constituent Assembly of Italy
The Italian Constituent Assembly was a parliamentary chamber which existed in Italy from 25 June 1946 until 31 January 1948...
. In 1948 he was nominated senator for life
Senator for life
A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , 7 Italian Senators out of 322, 4 out of the 47 Burundian Senators and all members of the British House of Lords have lifetime tenure...
, and was a candidate for the presidency of the republic (elected by Parliament) but was defeated by Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi
Luigi Einaudi , Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorato di Gran Cordone OMRI was an Italian politician and economist. He served as the second President of the Italian Republic between 1948 and 1955.-Early life:...
. He died in 1952 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Links with the Mafia
Orlando was connected to the MafiaMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and mafiosi from beginning to end of his long parliamentary career. The Mafia pentito
Pentito
Pentito designates people in Italy who, formerly part of criminal or terrorist organizations, following their arrests decide to "repent" and collaborate with the judicial system to help investigations...
– a state witness – Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta
Tommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
claimed that Orlando actually was a member of the Mafia, a man of honour, himself. In Partinico he was supported by the Mafia boss Frank Coppola
Frank Coppola
Frank Coppola may refer to:*Frank James Coppola , American former police officer who was executed for murder*Francis Ford Coppola, American film director...
who had been deported back to Italy from the US.
In 1925, Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being mafioso:
- “if by the word 'mafia' we understand a sense of honour pitched in the highest key; a refusal to tolerate anyone’s prominence or overbearing behaviour; … a generosity of spirit which, while it meets strength head on, is indulgent to the weak; loyalty to friends … If such feelings and such behaviour are what people mean by 'the mafia', … then we are actually speaking of the special characteristics of the Sicilian soul: and I declare that I am a mafioso, and proud to be one.”