Giuseppe "Pino" Romualdi (24 July 1913 – 21 May 1988) was an Italian

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

politician who served both the

Republican Fascist Party The Republican Fascist Party (, PFR) was a political party in Italy led by Benito Mussolini and the sole representative party of the Italian Social Republic during the German occupation of Italy. The PFR was the successor to the National Fasci ...

(PFR) and 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). He was the subject of frequent rumours that he was the biological son 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 ...

, although no proof has been given. Romualdi himself, who was from the same village as Mussolini, encouraged the rumour.

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. 328

Biography

Before World War II

Romualdi was born in

Predappio Predappio ( , ; or ) is a (municipality) in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, with a population of 6,135 as of 1 January 2021. The town is best known for being the birthplace of Benito Mussolini, founder of ...

, near

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, the same

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

of Mussolini. He took a ''

laurea In Italy, the ''laurea'' is the main post-secondary academic degree. The name originally referred literally to the laurel wreath, since ancient times a sign of honor and now worn by Italian students right after their official graduation ceremo ...

'' in political science, serving as secretary of the ''Gruppi universitari fascisti'' in

from 1936 to 1938, and then worked as a journalist. Romualdi served as a soldier 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 the campaigns in

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 ...

and during 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 ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, where he was an infantry captain. He returned to Italy in 1943 and became more prominent in political life with the foundation 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 ...

in 1943. Here he served as a delegate to the

1943 Congress of Verona The Congress of Verona in November 1943 was the only congress of the Italian Republican Fascist Party, the successor of the National Fascist Party. At the time, the Republican Fascist Party was nominally in charge of the Italian Social Republic, ...

and edited the ''Gazzetta di Parma'' newspaper. Shortly before the collapse of the Republic he was appointed vice-president of the PFR.Rees, p. 329

Post World War II

Romualdi was one of the fascist contingent captured by

Urbano Lazzaro Urbano Lazzaro (November 4, 1924 – January 3, 2006) was an Italian resistance fighter who played an important role in capturing Benito Mussolini near the end of World War II. Lazzaro was born in Quinto Vicentino in the Veneto region. As a ...

partisans Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Itali ...

Dongo, Lombardy Dongo (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy. It lies on the northwestern shore of Lake Como between Gravedona and Musso at the mouth of the Albano. It is north of Milan and about northeast of Como ...

in April 1945. However he managed to escape capture and was sentenced to death in absentia. As a fugitive he became involved in terrorist activity and in 1946 was a founder of the

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...

Fasci di Azione Rivoluzionaria (; : ''fasci'') is an Italian word literally meaning 'bundle' or 'sheaf', and figuratively 'league', and which was used in the late 19th century to refer to political groups of many different (and sometimes opposing) orientations. A number o ...

. However he left this movement, along with his close ally

Pino Rauti Giuseppe Umberto "Pino" Rauti (19 November 1926 – 2 November 2012) was an Italian neo-fascist politician who was a leading figure of the Italian far-right for many years. Involved in active politics since 1948, he was one of founders and for m ...

at the end of the same year to become a leading figure in the new Italian Social Movement. Captured in 1948 his sentence was reduced to four years imprisonment and he was released in 1951, returning to his role as deputy secretary of the MSI. He went on to become associated with the "liberal" wing of the party that helped secure the leadership for

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 ...

. He again served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1953 to 1979 and then in 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 ...

from 1983 to 1987. He also edited the journals ''Lotta Politica'', ''Il Popolo Italiano'' and ''Ardito'' at various times and as MSI deputy secretary oversaw the modernisation of the party's internal structure and played a leading role in drafting their nine-point programme in 1967.

European Parliament

Romualdi was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

at the 1979 election and held his seat until his death. He became a leading figure within the far right, serving as vice chair of the Group of the European Right from 1984-1988. He was particularly prominent as a member of the

European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET, after the French name ''Affaires étrangères''), previously called Political Affairs, is a committee of the European Parliament. It is responsible for the common foreign, security, and defence policy of th ...

. Romualdi died 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, ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on 21 May 1988, on the same weekend as his former colleagues and fellow Italian Fascist leaders

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 ...

and

. Like Romualdi, Grandi died on 21 May 1988, and Almirante died the following day.Dino Grandi profile
/ref>

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romualdi, Pino 1913 births 1988 deaths People from Predappio Italian military personnel of World War II Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War People of the Italian Social Republic Italian Social Movement politicians Italian Social Movement MEPs MEPs for Italy 1979–1984 MEPs for Italy 1984–1989 Italian male journalists Italian prisoners sentenced to death 20th-century Italian journalists 20th-century Italian male writers People sentenced to death in absentia Prisoners sentenced to death by Italy Deaths from cancer in Lazio