The Ministry of the Colonies () 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 () 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 Portrait Name Term of office Political party Government Took office Left office Time in office Minister of the Colonies 1 Pietro Bertolini 21 November 1912 21 March 1914 Liberal Union Giolitti IV 2 Ferdinando Martini 21 March 1914 18 June 1916 Liberal Union Salandra I–II 3 Gaspare Colosimo 18 June 1916 23 June 1919 Liberal Union BoselliOrlando 4 Luigi Rossi 23 June 1919 14 March 1920 Italian Radical Party Nitti I – Francesco Saverio Nitti 14 March 1920 21 May 1920 Italian Radical Party Nitti I 5 Meuccio Ruini 21 May 1920 15 June 1920 Italian Radical Party Nitti II (4) Luigi Rossi 15 June 1920 4 July 1921 Italian Radical Party Giolitti V 6 Giuseppe Girardini 4 July 1921 26 February 1922 Social Democracy Bonomi I 7 Giovanni Amendola 26 February 1922 30 October 1922 Democratic Liberal Party Facta I–II 8 Luigi Federzoni 26 February 1922 3 June 1924 Nationalist Association Mussolini 9 Pietro Lanza di Scalea 3 June 1924 6 November 1926 National Fascist Party Mussolini (8) Luigi Federzoni 6 November 1926 18 December 1928 National Fascist Party Mussolini – Benito Mussolini 18 December 1928 12 September 1929 National Fascist Party Mussolini 10 Emilio De Bono 12 September 1929 17 January 1935 National Fascist Party Mussolini – Benito Mussolini 17 January 1935 11 June 1936 National Fascist Party Mussolini 11 Alessandro Lessona 11 June 1936 8 April 1937 National Fascist Party Mussolini Minister of Italian Africa Alessandro Lessona 8 April 1937 20 November 1937 National Fascist Party Mussolini 12 Benito Mussolini 20 November 1937 31 October 1939 National Fascist Party Mussolini 13 Attilio Teruzzi 31 October 1939 25 July 1943 National Fascist Party Mussolini 14 Melchiade Gabba 27 July 1943 11 February 1944 Independent Badoglio I – – Pietro Badoglio 11 February 1944 8 June 1944 Independent Badoglio I–II – – Ivanoe Bonomi 18 June 1944 21 June 1945 Labour Democratic Party Bonomi II–III – 16 Ferruccio Parri 21 June 1945 8 December 1945 Action Party Parri 17 Alcide De Gasperi 10 December 1945 19 April 1953 Christian Democracy De Gasperi I–II–III–IV–V–VI–VII
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