author
Benito Mussolini
1883–1945
A former socialist journalist who remade himself as a nationalist strongman, he became the founder of Italian Fascism and ruled Italy for more than two decades. His rise to power helped shape the course of 20th-century Europe, ending in war, collapse, and execution in 1945.
2 Audiobooks
Mussolini as revealed in his political speeches (November 1914-August 1923)
by Benito Mussolini
My autobiography
by Benito Mussolini
About the author
Born in Predappio, Italy, in 1883, Benito Mussolini worked as a teacher and journalist before becoming a major political figure. Early in his life he was active in socialist politics, but after World War I he broke with socialism and built a new movement centered on nationalism, violence, and authoritarian rule.
In 1922, after the March on Rome, he became prime minister of Italy. Over the next few years he dismantled democratic institutions and established a dictatorship, presenting himself as Il Duce. He founded the Fascist regime that became a model for other authoritarian movements in Europe.
Mussolini ruled Italy until 1943 and later headed the German-backed Italian Social Republic in the final phase of World War II. His alliance with Nazi Germany and his role in leading Italy into disastrous war left a lasting mark on modern history. He was captured and killed in 1945 as the war in Europe was drawing to a close.