Ivanoe Bonomi
Ivanoe Bonomi
A reformist politician who organized compromises between fascism's fall and the monarchy
In June 1943, he secretly urged the king to dismiss Mussolini, appoint Badoglio, and break Italy's alliance with Germany.
Ivanoe Bonomi was a politician who moved from reformist socialism into the center of Italian liberal parliamentary politics. His record during fascism's rise included insufficient resistance and support for Mussolini's government, a compromise that later shaped criticism of his leadership. From 1942 he reconnected anti-Fascist forces, secretly urging King Victor Emmanuel III in 1943 to dismiss Mussolini and appoint Pietro Badoglio, then chairing the six-party Committee of National Liberation. He subsequently managed the difficult transition among the monarchy, the resistance, and the Allies, helping carry Italy toward postwar parliamentary institutions.
Career timeline
- 1893Joined the Italian Socialist Workers' Party
- 1909Elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a Socialist
- 1912Helped found the Italian Reformist Socialist Party
- 1916–1919Minister of Public Works in the Boselli and Orlando cabinets
- 1921–1922Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy
- 1942–1943Organized an underground anti-Fascist paper and opposition contacts
- 1943–1944Chair of the Committee of National Liberation
- 1944–1945Prime Minister of Italy during the liberation
- 1948–1951First President of the Senate of the Republic