A Fascist power broker who helped bring down Mussolini
At 2 a.m. on 25 July 1943, the Grandi motion passed 19–8 and shattered Mussolini’s grip on power.
Dino Grandi was a leading Italian Fascist and diplomat who exercised power at the centre of the regime. As foreign minister and ambassador in London, he pursued a cautious diplomatic line toward war, but he also bore responsibility for administering the Fascist state and its policies. After the Allied invasion of Sicily, he drafted and organized the vote on the July 1943 motion calling on the king to resume constitutional command of the armed forces, helping bring about Benito Mussolini’s removal. He went into exile and was later sentenced to death in absentia by the Italian Social Republic’s Fascist tribunal.
Career Timeline
- 1915–1919Served in World War I, studied law and economics, and began legal practice
- 1920–1922Leader in the Bologna Fascist movement and the National Fascist Party leadership
- 1924–1929Undersecretary of the Interior and Foreign Affairs
- 1929–1932Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1932–1939Italian ambassador to the United Kingdom
- 1939–1943Minister of Justice and president of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations
- 1943Drafted and organized the Grand Council motion that removed Mussolini
- 1944Sentenced to death in absentia by the Italian Social Republic tribunal