Ministry of the Colonies (Italy)

Minister of the Colonies
Ministro per l'Africa italiana
Longest serving
Emilio De Bono
(12 September 1929 – 17 January 1935)
Ministry of the Colonies
StatusAbolished
Constituting instrumentRoyal Decree n. 1205
PrecursorCentral Direction of Colonial Affairs
Formation21 November 1912 (21 November 1912)
First holderPietro Bertolini
Final holderAlcide De Gasperi
Abolished19 April 1953 (19 April 1953)

The Ministry of the Colonies (Ministero delle colonie) was the ministry of the government of the Kingdom of Italy responsible for the governing of the country's colonial possessions and the direction of their economies. It was set up on 20 November 1912 by Royal Decree n. 1205, turning the Central Direction of Colonial Affairs within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs into a separate ministry. Royal Decree n. 431 of 8 April 1937 renamed it the Ministry of Italian Africa (Ministro per l'Africa italiana) after the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which resulted in the Italian annexation of the Ethiopian Empire and the birth of Italian East Africa. It was suppressed on 19 April 1953 by law n. 430.

List of ministers

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of office Political party Government Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
Minister of the Colonies
1 Pietro Bertolini
(1859–1920) 		21 November 1912 21 March 1914 1 year, 120 days Liberal Union Giolitti IV [1]
2 Ferdinando Martini
(1841–1928) 		21 March 1914 18 June 1916 2 years, 89 days Liberal Union Salandra I–II [2][3]
3 Gaspare Colosimo
(1859–1944) 		18 June 1916 23 June 1919 3 years, 5 days Liberal Union Boselli
Orlando 		[4][5]
4 Luigi Rossi
(1867–1941) 		23 June 1919 14 March 1920 265 days Italian Radical Party Nitti I [6]
– Francesco Saverio Nitti
(1867–1941)
Acting 		14 March 1920 21 May 1920 68 days Italian Radical Party Nitti I [6]
5 Meuccio Ruini
(1867–1941) 		21 May 1920 15 June 1920 25 days Italian Radical Party Nitti II [7]
(4) Luigi Rossi
(1867–1941) 		15 June 1920 4 July 1921 1 year, 19 days Italian Radical Party Giolitti V [8]
6 Giuseppe Girardini [it]
(1856–1923) 		4 July 1921 26 February 1922 237 days Social Democracy Bonomi I [9]
7 Giovanni Amendola
(1882–1926) 		26 February 1922 30 October 1922 246 days Democratic Liberal Party Facta I–II [10][11]
8 Luigi Federzoni
(1878–1967) 		26 February 1922 3 June 1924 2 years, 98 days Nationalist Association Mussolini [12]
9 Pietro Lanza di Scalea
(1863–1938) 		3 June 1924 6 November 1926 2 years, 156 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [12]
(8) Luigi Federzoni
(1878–1967) 		6 November 1926 18 December 1928 42 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [12]
– Benito Mussolini
(1883–1945)
Acting 		18 December 1928 12 September 1929 268 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [12]
10 Emilio De Bono
(1866–1944) 		12 September 1929 17 January 1935 5 years, 127 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [12]
– Benito Mussolini
(1883–1945)
Acting 		17 January 1935 11 June 1936 1 year, 146 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [12]
11 Alessandro Lessona
(1891–1991) 		11 June 1936 8 April 1937 301 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [12]
Minister of Italian Africa
(11) Alessandro Lessona
(1891–1991) 		8 April 1937 20 November 1937 226 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [13]
12 Benito Mussolini
(1883–1945) 		20 November 1937 31 October 1939 1 year, 345 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [13]
13 Attilio Teruzzi
(1882–1950) 		31 October 1939 25 July 1943 3 years, 267 days National Fascist Party Mussolini [13]
14 Melchiade Gabba
(1874–1952) 		27 July 1943 11 February 1944 199 days Independent Badoglio I –
– Pietro Badoglio
(1871–1956)
Acting 		11 February 1944 8 June 1944 118 days Independent Badoglio I–II –
– Ivanoe Bonomi
(1873–1951)
Acting 		18 June 1944 21 June 1945 1 year, 13 days Labour Democratic Party Bonomi II–III –
16 Ferruccio Parri
(1890–1981) 		21 June 1945 8 December 1945 170 days Action Party Parri [14]
17 Alcide De Gasperi
(1881–1954) 		10 December 1945 19 April 1953 7 years, 132 days Christian Democracy De Gasperi I–II–III–IV–V–VI–VII [15][16]
[17][18]
[19][20]
[21]

References

  1. ^ "I Governo Giolitti". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  2. ^ "I Governo Salandra". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. ^ "II Governo Salandra". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Governo Boselli". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Governo Orlando". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b "I Governo Nitti". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  7. ^ "II Governo Nitti". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  8. ^ "V Governo Giolitti". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. ^ "I Governo Bonomi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  10. ^ "I Governo Facta". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  11. ^ "II Governo Facta". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "Governo Mussolini". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  13. ^ a b c "Governo Mussolini". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Governo Parri". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  15. ^ "I Governo De Gasperi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  16. ^ "II Governo De Gasperi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. ^ "III Governo De Gasperi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  18. ^ "IV Governo De Gasperi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  19. ^ "V Governo De Gasperi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  20. ^ "VI Governo De Gasperi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  21. ^ "VII Governo De Gasperi". storia.camera.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 July 2020.