Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini [ a ] 29 July β 28 April was an Italian politician who was the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in , until his overthrow in He was also Duce of Italian fascism from the establishment of the Italian Fasces of Combat in , until his summary execution in As a dictator and founder of fascism , Mussolini inspired the international spread of fascist movements during the interwar period.
Mussolini was originally a socialist politician and journalist at the Avanti! In , Mussolini founded a newspaper, Il Popolo d'Italia , and served in the Royal Italian Army until he was wounded and discharged in He eventually denounced the PSI, his views now centering on Italian nationalism , and founded the fascist movement which opposed egalitarianism and class conflict , instead advocating " revolutionary nationalism " transcending class lines.
After removing opposition through his secret police and outlawing labour strikes , Mussolini and his followers consolidated power through laws that transformed the nation into a one-party dictatorship. Within five years, he established dictatorial authority by legal and illegal means and aspired to create a totalitarian state. In , he signed the Lateran Treaty to establish Vatican City. Mussolini's foreign policy was based on the fascist doctrine of " Spazio vitale " "living space" , which aimed to expand Italian possessions.
In the s, he ordered the Pacification of Libya , the bombing of Corfu over an incident with Greece , and annexed Fiume , after a treaty with Yugoslavia. In , Italian forces annexed Albania. However, he alienated the democratic powers as tensions grew in the League of Nations , which he left in The wars of the s cost Italy enormous resources, leaving it unprepared for the Second World War; Mussolini initially declared Italy's non-belligerence.
However, in June , believing Allied defeat imminent, he joined the war on Germany's side, to share the spoils. After the king agreed to an armistice with the Allies, in September , Mussolini was rescued in the Gran Sasso raid by Germany. Hitler made Mussolini the figurehead of a puppet state in German-occupied north Italy, the Italian Social Republic , which served as a collaborationist regime of the Germans. With Allied victory imminent, Mussolini and mistress Clara Petacci attempted to flee to Switzerland, but were captured by communist partisans and executed on 28 April As a young boy, Mussolini helped his father in his smithy.
