Alessandro Fortis (16 September 1842 – 4 December 1909) was an Italian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Italy from 1905 to 1906.

Early career

Fortis was born in Forlì, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and became a lawyer. A republican follower of Giuseppe Mazzini, he joined

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

Sarti, ''Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present''
p. 290
/ref> in 1866 and fought with him first in Trentino then at Mentana and in France.Fortis, Alessandro
Historical Dictionary of modern Italy After being elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

in 1880, Fortis initially worked under

Francesco Crispi Francesco Crispi (4 October 1818 – 11 August 1901) was an Italian patriot and statesman. He was among the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, a close friend and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and one of the architect ...

as Under Secretary of the Interior (1887–1890). He served as Agriculture Minister from 1898 to 1899 in the first government of Luigi Pelloux (June 1898–May 1899). He resigned in 1899 and subsequently joined the liberal opposition of

Giovanni Giolitti Giovanni Giolitti (; 27 October 1842 – 17 July 1928) was an Italian statesman. He was the Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921. After Benito Mussolini, he is the second-longest serving Prime Minister in Italian history. A pr ...

, whose liberal reformism was closest to Fortis’s own political views that had moderated over time. Fortis argued that a view of the state "which abstains from everything, which increasingly reduces its actions and its responsibilities; the state which is feared, rather than appealed to ... is, it seems to me, doomed to die out."Ashley, ''Making Liberalism Work''
p. 48
/ref> The moderate liberals opposed the repressive measures of Pelloux restricting political activity and free speech, and aimed to uphold constitutional liberties. Fortis supported the governments of Giuseppe Zanardelli (February 1901 – November 1903) and Giolitti (November 1903 – March 1905).

Prime Minister

In March 1905 on the recommendation of Giolitti, he formed his first government, mainly related to the nationalization of the railways, after confronting a railroad strike on April 17–22 that year,Italian Railroad Men To Begin Strike To-Day; Trains to be Run by Soldiers and Navy Engineers
The New York Times, April 17, 1905Italian Strike Ended; Arbitration Between Government and Railroad Men Planned
The New York Times, April 22, 1905 which could have paralyzed transportation in the country. Railroad workers became public employees, which deprived them of the right to strike.Ashley, ''Making Liberalism Work''
p. 65
/ref> In September 1905, Fortis visited

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and Sicily to examine firsthand the extent of the damage of the

1905 Calabria earthquake Striking southern Italy on September 8, the 1905 Calabria earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The first major earthquake of the 20th century, it severely damaged parts of Lipari, Messina ...

. Subsequently he introduced a special law to aid these southern regions. This measure was the first real acknowledgment by the Italian state of the fundamental problems underlying southern underdevelopment. His government was defeated in the

(the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of Parliament) in December 1905, when a trade treaty with Spain that would have significantly reduced Italian tariffs on Spanish wine, met with severe parliamentary and public opposition and was rejected.Three Cabinets Resign; Italian, Greek, and Montenegrin - Italy's Modus with Spain Rejected
The New York Times, December 18, 1905 Fortis resigned, was reappointed and formed a new government, which did not gain the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies, after which Fortis definitively resigned in February 1906.De Grand, ''The hunchback's tailor''
p. 123
/ref>

Death and family

Fortis was Jewish.Hooper, John (2016).
The Italians
', Penguin Publishing Group, , p. 123. He died on 4 December 1909 in Rome.

References

* Ashley, Susan A. (2003).
Making Liberalism Work: The Italian Experience, 1860-1914
', Westport (CT): Praeger Publishers, * Braber, Ben (2013).
This cannot happen here
', Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, * De Grand, Alexander J. (2001).
The hunchback's tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and liberal Italy from the challenge of mass politics to the rise of fascism, 1882-1922
', Greenwood. * Hooper, John (2016).
The Italians
', Penguin Publishing Group, * Sarti, Roland (2004).
Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present
', New York: Facts on File Inc.,

External links