Augusto De Marsanich (13 April 1893 – 10 February 1973) was an Italian

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

politician and the second leader of the

Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement (, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national conservatism. In 1972, the Itali ...

(MSI).

Early years

De Marsanich was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He enlisted in the

Italian Army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

in 1916 and saw active service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester P ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 89 After leaving the army he became involved in politics and joined the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party (, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of It ...

in 1920. He was a journalist by profession and worked for ''

La Stampa (English: "The Press") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin with an average circulation of 87,143 copies in May 2023. Distributed in Italy and other European nations, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Until the late 1970 ...

'' most notably.

Under the fascists

Although he did not achieve high office, De Marsanich held a number of positions within the fascist movement. He served as a director of the local party in Latium and Sabine from 1927 to 1929, briefly serving as a member of the Fascist Grand Council in the latter year. 1929 also saw him take a seat in 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 Bourb ...

, where he remained a member until 1943. Seen as something of a bureaucrat, he variously served with the Syndical Office, as head of the party's Legal Office, President of the Syndical Confederation of Commerce and Vice-President of the Corporation for the Building Trades. He served as under-secretary of communications from 1935 to 1943 and also represented Italy at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

during the

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

crisis. He also was a regular contributor to a number of

journals, notably

Giuseppe Bottai Giuseppe Bottai (3 September 1895 – 9 January 1959) was an Italian journalist and member of the National Fascist Party of Benito Mussolini. Early life Born in Rome, Bottai was son of Luigi Bottai, a wine dealer with republican sympathies, and ...

's ''Critica Fascista'' and served as a director of the fascist monthly ''Il Lavoro Fascista''. As the maternal uncle of novelist

Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...

De Marsanich helped to ensure that he enjoyed the patronage of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

's government. He continued to hold a number of positions in the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

, most notably acting as Assistant Postmaster-General, as well as serving as chairman of both the

Banco di Roma Banco di Roma was an Italian bank based in Rome, established on 9 March 1880. In the early 20th century, it was one of Italy's four dominant universal banks, together with Banca Commerciale Italiana, Credito Italiano, and Società Bancaria Ita ...

and

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

. Within the Salo Republic he largely belonged to the moderate tendency that cautioned against the growing atmosphere of violence and the pervading influence of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

Post-war activity

De Marsanich joined the MSI after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was part of the more moderate tendency with the party. He became leader in 1950 and under his leadership the MSI became more fully committed to the parliamentary route to government and he even sought alliances with other parties, including

Christian Democracy Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

, the

Italian Liberal Party The Italian Liberal Party (, PLI) was a liberal political party in Italy. The PLI, which was heir to the liberal currents of both the Historical Right and the Historical Left, was a minor party after World War II, but also a frequent junio ...

and the

Monarchist National Party The Monarchist National Party (, PNM) was a list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy founded in 1946. It was a right-wing competitor to Christian Democracy (Italy), Christian Democracy and was especially strong in Southern Ital ...

. In his attempts to form a united front of

anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...

he was frustrated by more hard-line

loyalists such as

Giorgio Almirante Giorgio Almirante (27 June 1914 – 22 May 1988) was an Italian politician who founded the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, which he led until his retirement in 1987. Early life Almirante was born at Salsomaggiore Terme, in Emilia Rom ...

. In his capacity as MSI leader De Marsanich also served as part of the four man leadership of the

European Social Movement The European Social Movement (German: ''Europäische soziale Bewegung'', ESB) was a neo-fascist European political alliance set up in 1951 to promote pan-European nationalism. History The ESB had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Soc ...

(ESM), along with

Per Engdahl Per Claes Sven Edvard Engdahl (25 February 1909 – 4 May 1994) was a leading Swedish far-right politician. He was a leader of '' Sveriges Fascistiska Kamporganisation'' (SFKO or Sweden's Fascist Combat Organization), during the 1930s. He led a ...

Maurice Bardèche Maurice Bardèche (1 October 1907 – 30 July 1998) was a French art critic and journalist, better known as one of the leading exponents of neo-fascism and Holocaust denial in post–World War II Europe. Bardèche was also the brother-in-law ...

and

Karl-Heinz Priester Karl-Heinz Priester (20 March 1912 – 16 April 1960) was a German far far-right political activist. While he played only a minor role in Nazi Germany, Priester became a leading figure on the extreme right in Europe after the Second World War. Un ...

.Graham Macklin, ''Very Deeply Dyed in Black'', 2007, p. 107 His commitment to moderation in the MSI was frequently at odds with his enthusiastic support for the ESM, a group that contained several leading

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

activists. He was succeeded as leader by fellow moderate

Arturo Michelini Arturo Michelini (17 February 1909 – 15 June 1969) was an Italian politician and secretary of the Italian Social Movement (MSI). A minor party official during the days of Italian fascism and a war veteran, Michelini emerged as one of the two l ...

in 1954, although he continued to be a leading MSI figure as national secretary. He was again elected to the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the upper house being the Senate of the Republic (Italy), Senate of the Republic. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform ...

in 1953 and the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic (), or simply the Senate ( ), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the lower house being the Chamber of Deputies. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform iden ...

in 1968. He was also unsuccessful candidate for the

President of Italy The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic (), is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity and guarantees that Politics of Italy, Italian politics comply with the Consti ...

in 1964. In 1971 the veteran De Marsanich was appointed to President of the MSI, having previously been made honorary Vice-President in 1955.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Marsanich, Augusto 1893 births 1973 deaths People from Rome Politicians from Rome Candidates for President of Italy Italian military personnel of World War I Italian Social Movement politicians People of the Italian Social Republic Alfa Romeo people Italian anti-communists