biography
pronunciation:
[jiohleetee]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1842–1928)
|
| biography:
| Italian statesman and prime minister (1892–3, 1903–5, 1906–9, 1911–14, 1920–1), born in Mondovi, NW Italy. He studied law at the University of Turin, and entered the civil service in 1860. He became a deputy in the Italian parliament (1882), and was five times prime minister. The ‘eta giolittiana’ (Giolitti's era, 1903–13) saw unprecedented economic and social development. He concluded an electoral pact with Catholic forces (patto Gentiloni), which eventually led to the fall of his cabinet. He introduced male suffrage and tried unsuccessfully to keep Italy neutral during World War 1. After the war, as prime minister, he introduced vast schemes of social reform, but underestimated the fledgling Fascist movement, and moved to the opposition only after the murder of Matteotti. |
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