Carlo Alberto Biggini (December 9, 1902 – November 19, 1945) was an Italian fascist politician who served as minister of education before and after proclamation of 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 ...

under

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 ...

Biography

Born in

Sarzana Sarzana (, ; ) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former short-lived Catholic bishopric in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. It is east of La Spezia, on the railway to Pisa, at the point where the railway to Parma diverges to the ...

Province of La Spezia The province of La Spezia (; Ligurian language, Ligurian: ''provinsa dea Spèza'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of La Spezia. Overview It has an area of and, , a total population o ...

, he joined the

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...

in 1920, and co-signed the '' Fascist Intellectuals' Manifesto'' in 1925. He earned a bachelor's degree in law and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1928, and subsequently taught law at the

University of Sassari The University of Sassari (, UniSS) is a public university located in Sassari, Italy. It was founded in 1562 and is organized in 13 departments. The University of Sassari earned first place in the rankings for the best “medium-sized” Italian ...

, and then at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ...

(where he became the rector in 1941). Biggini asserted himself through his strong belief in

corporatism Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come toget ...

. Despite a brief collaboration with Anti-fascists, he 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 ...

(PNF) in 1928, and became party secretary for the Fascio in

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

, 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 Bourb ...

in 1934. He fought in the

Second Italo-Abyssinian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Italy against Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Ita ...

(as a lieutenant in the 84th Fanteria of the Division ''Gavinana'' in

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

), and rose to become inspector for the PNF, then (February 5, 1943) Minister of National Education and a

Grand Council of Fascism The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy, which held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of the ...

member. On July 25, Biggini voted against

Dino Grandi Dino Grandi, 1st Conte di Mordano (4 June 1895 – 21 May 1988), was an Italian Fascist politician, minister of justice, minister of foreign affairs and president of Parliament. Early life Born at Mordano, province of Bologna, Grandi was ...

's proposal for the removal of Mussolini, and stood by the

Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word , 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...

as the Social Republic was created with help from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. The Germans were also instrumental in pressuring him to accept the Ministry again. Placing his seat in

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

, Biggini managed to avoid capture by the partisans in Dongo. Protected by many fascists, he managed to avoid arrest, but fell ill and died under an assumed name in a Milan clinic.

References

External links

* (in Italian) 1902 births 1945 deaths People from Sarzana Education ministers of Italy Mussolini Cabinet Deputies of Legislature XXIX of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations People of the Italian Social Republic Politicians of Liguria 20th-century Italian lawyers Deaths from cancer in Veneto {{Liguria-politician-stub