The minister of war of Italy (), was the minister responsible for the Ministry of War, which in turn oversaw the Royal Italian Army under the Kingdom of Italy between 1861 and 1946 and the Italian Army under the Italian Republic from 1946 to 1947. The position was abolished in 1947 when the Ministry of War, Ministry of the Navy, and Ministry of Aeronautics were merged to form the Ministry of Defence under the oversight of the new position of Minister of Defence.
The first minister of war was Manfredo Fanti, a general of the Royal Italian Army, while the last one was Cipriano Facchinetti, a member of the Italian Republican Party. The longest-serving minister was the fascist dictator Prime Minister Benito Mussolini of the National Fascist Party.
List of ministers Kingdom of Italy Parties
Coalitions
Portrait Name(Born–Died) Term of office Party Government Took officeLeft officeTime in office Manfredo Fanti 23 March 1861 12 June 1861 Military Cavour IV Bettino Ricasoli 12 June 1861 5 September 1861 Historical RightRicasoli I Alessandro Della Rovere 5 September 1861 3 March 1862 Military Agostino Petitti Bagliani 4 March 1862 8 December 1862 MilitaryRattazzi I Alessandro Della Rovere 8 December 1862 28 September 1864 MilitaryFariniMinghetti I Agostino Petitti Bagliani 28 September 1864 31 December 1865 MilitaryLa Marmora IIIgnazio De Genova31 December 1865 22 August 1866 MilitaryLa Marmora IIIRicasoli II Efisio Cugia 22 August 1866 10 April 1867 MilitaryRicasoli II Genova Giovanni Thaon di Revel 10 April 1867 27 October 1867 MilitaryRattazzi II Ettore Bertolè-Viale 27 October 1867 14 December 1869 MilitaryMenabrea I·II·III Giuseppe Govone 14 December 1869 7 September 1870 MilitaryLanzaCesare Ricotti-Magnani7 September 1870 20 November 1876 MilitaryLanzaMinghetti IIDepretis I Luigi Mezzacapo 20 November 1876 24 March 1878 MilitaryDepretis I·II Giovanni Bruzzo 24 March 1878 24 October 1878 MilitaryCairoli I Cesare Bonelli(1821–1904) 24 October 1878 19 December 1878 Military Gustavo Mazè de la Roche(1824–1886) 19 December 1878 14 July 1879 MilitaryDepretis III Cesare Bonelli(1821–1904) 14 July 1879 13 July 1880 MilitaryCairoli II·III Ferdinando Acton(1832–1891) 13 July 1880 27 July 1880 MilitaryCiaroli III Bernardino Milon(1829–1881) 27 July 1880 25 March 1881 Military Emilio Ferrero(1819–1887) 25 March 1881 24 May 1884 MilitaryCairoli IIIDepretis IV·V·VI Cesare Ricotti-Magnani(1822–1917) 24 May 1884 4 April 1887 MilitaryDepretis VI·VII Ettore Bertolè-Viale(1829–1892) 4 April 1887 6 February 1891 MilitaryDepretis VIIICrispi I·IILuigi Pelloux(1839–1924)6 February 1891 15 December 1893 MilitaryDi Rudinì IGiolitti I Stanislao Mocenni(1837–1907) 15 December 1893 10 March 1896 MilitaryCrispi III·IV Cesare Ricotti-Magnani(1822–1917) 10 March 1896 11 July 1896 MilitaryDi Rudinì II Luigi Pelloux(1839–1924) 11 July 1896 14 December 1897 MilitaryDi Rudinì IIIAlessandro Asinari di San Marzano(1830–1906)14 December 1897 14 May 1899 MilitaryDi Rudinì IVPelloux I Giuseppe Mirri(1834–1907) 14 May 1899 7 January 1900 MilitaryPelloux II Luigi Pelloux(1839–1924) 7 January 1900 7 April 1900 Military Coriolano Ponzadi San Martino(1842–1926) 7 April 1900 27 April 1902 MilitaryPelloux IISaraccoZanardelli Enrico Morin(1841–1910) 27 April 1902 14 May 1902 MilitaryZanardelli Giuseppe Ottolenghi(1838–1904) 14 May 1902 3 November 1903 Military Ettore Pedotti(1842–1919) 3 November 1903 24 December 1905 MilitaryGiolitti IITittoniFortis I Luigi Majnoni d'Intignano(1841–1918) 24 December 1905 29 May 1906 MilitaryFortis IISonnino I Giuseppe Ettore Viganò(1843–1933) 29 May 1906 29 December 1907 MilitaryGiolitti III Severino Casana(1842–1912) 29 December 1907 11 December 1909 Historical RightPaolo Spingardi(1845–1918)11 December 1909 21 March 1914 MilitarySonnino IILuzzattiGiolitti IV Domenico Grandi(1849–1937) 21 March 1914 10 October 1914 MilitarySalandra I Vittorio Italico Zupelli(1859–1945) 10 October 1914 4 April 1916 MilitarySalandra I·II Paolo Morrone(1854–1937) 4 April 1916 16 June 1917 MilitarySalandra IIBoselli Gaetano Giardino(1864–1935) 16 June 1917 30 October 1917 MilitaryBoselli Vittorio Luigi Alfieri(1863–1918) 30 October 1917 21 March 1918 MilitaryOrlando Vittorio Italico Zupelli(1859–1945) 21 March 1918 18 January 1919 Military Enrico Caviglia(1862–1945) 18 January 1919 23 June 1919 Military Alberico Albricci(1864–1936) 24 June 1919 14 March 1920 MilitaryNitti I Ivanoe Bonomi(1873–1951) 14 March 1920 21 May 1920 Italian Reformist Socialist Party Giulio Rodinò(1875–1946) 21 May 1920 15 June 1920 Italian People's PartyNitti II Ivanoe Bonomi(1873–1951) 15 June 1920 2 April 1921 Italian Reformist Socialist Party Giolitti V Giulio Rodinò(1875–1946) 2 April 1921 4 July 1921 Italian People's Party Luigi Gasparotto(1873–1954) 4 July 1921 26 February 1922 Italian Reformist Socialist PartyBonomi I Pietro Lanza di Scalea(1863–1938) 26 February 1922 1 August 1922 Agrarian PartyFacta I Marcello Soleri(1882–1945) 1 August 1922 31 October 1922 Liberal UnionFacta II Armando Diaz(1861–1928) 31 October 1922 30 April 1924 MilitaryMussolini Antonino Di Giorgio(1867–1932) 30 April 1924 4 April 1925 National Fascist Party Benito Mussolini(1883–1945) 4 April 1925 12 September 1929 National Fascist Party Pietro Gazzera(1879–1953) 12 September 1929 22 July 1933 National Fascist Party Benito Mussolini(1883–1945) 22 July 1933 25 July 1943 National Fascist Party Antonio Sorice(1897–1971) 28 July 1943 11 February 1944 MilitaryBadoglio IComposizione del Governo Badoglio I, www.senato.it Taddeo Orlando(1885–1950) 11 February 1944 18 June 1944 MilitaryBadoglio I·II Alessandro Casati(1881–1955) 18 June 1944 21 June 1945 Italian Liberal PartyBonomi II·III Stefano Jacini(1886–1952) 21 June 1945 10 December 1945 Christian DemocracyParri Manlio Brosio(1897–1980) 10 December 1945 13 July 1946 Italian Liberal PartyDe Gasperi I Italian Social Republic (1943–1945)
Republic of Italy Parties
Coalitions
Portrait Name(Born–Died) Term of office Party Government Took officeLeft officeTime in office Cipriano Facchinetti 13 July 1946 4 February 1947 Italian Republican PartyDe Gasperi II
See also Minister of the Air Force Minister of Defence (Italy) Minister of the Navy (Italy)
References