Augusto De Marsanich
Encyclopedia
Augusto De Marsanich was an Italian
National Fascist Party
politician and the second leader of the Italian Social Movement
(MSI).
De Marsanich was born at Rome
. He served as undersecretary of communications from 1935 to 1943 and also represented Italy at the League of Nations
during the Ethiopia
crisis. He also was a regular contributor to a number of fascist
journals, notably Giuseppe Bottai
's Critica Fascista. He was also the maternal uncle of novelist Alberto Moravia
and helped to ensure that he enjoyed the patronage of Benito Mussolini
's government.
De Marsanich joined the MSI after the Second World War and was part of the more moderate tendency with the party. He became leader in 1950 and under his leadership the MSI became more fully committed to the parliamentary route to government and he even sought alliances with other parties, including Christian Democracy
, the Italian Liberal Party
and the Monarchist National Party
. In his attempts to form a united front of anti-communism
he was frustrated by more hardline fascist loyalists such as Giorgio Almirante
. In his capacity as MSI leader De Marsanich also served as part of the four man leadership of the European Social Movement
, along with Per Engdahl
, Maurice Bardèche
and Karl-Heinz Priester
.
He was succeeded as leader by fellow moderate Arturo Michelini
in 1954, although he continued to be a leading MSI figure. He was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
in 1953 and the Italian Senate
in 1968, made honourary President of the MSI in 1955 and was also unsuccessful candidate for the President of Italy in 1964.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
National Fascist Party
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
politician and the second leader of the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(MSI).
De Marsanich was born at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He served as undersecretary of communications from 1935 to 1943 and also represented Italy at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
during the Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
crisis. He also was a regular contributor to a number of fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
journals, notably Giuseppe Bottai
Giuseppe Bottai
Guiseppe Bottai was an Italian lawyer, economist, journalist, and member of the National Fascist Party of Benito Mussolini.-Fascism:...
's Critica Fascista. He was also the maternal uncle of novelist Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
and helped to ensure that he enjoyed the patronage of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's government.
De Marsanich joined the MSI after the Second World War and was part of the more moderate tendency with the party. He became leader in 1950 and under his leadership the MSI became more fully committed to the parliamentary route to government and he even sought alliances with other parties, including Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
, the Italian Liberal Party
Italian Liberal Party
The Italian Liberal Party was a liberal political party in Italy.-Origins:The origins of liberalism in Italy came from the so-called "Historical Right", a parliamentary group formed by Camillo Benso di Cavour in the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia following the 1848 revolution...
and the Monarchist National Party
Monarchist National Party
The Monarchist National Party was a political party in Italy founded in 1946, uniting conservatives, liberal conservatives, conservative liberals and nationalists...
. In his attempts to form a united front of anti-communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
he was frustrated by more hardline fascist loyalists such as Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante
Giorgio Almirante was an Italian politician, the founder and leader of the Italian Social Movement until his retirement in 1987.-Early life:...
. In his capacity as MSI leader De Marsanich also served as part of the four man leadership of the European Social Movement
European Social Movement
The European Social Movement was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism.The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement , which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up...
, along with Per Engdahl
Per Engdahl
Per Claes Sven Edvard Engdahl was a leading Swedish far right politician. He was the leader of Sveriges Fascistiska Kamporganisation, SFKO during the 1920's.-Career:...
, Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche was a French essayist, literary and art critic, journalist, and one of the leading exponents of Neo-Fascism in post-World War II Europe...
and Karl-Heinz Priester
Karl-Heinz Priester
Karl-Heinz Priester was a German far right political activist. Although he played only a minor role in Nazi Germany he became a leading figure on the extreme right in Europe after the Second World War.-Under the Nazis:...
.
He was succeeded as leader by fellow moderate Arturo Michelini
Arturo Michelini
Arturo Michelini was an Italian politician and Secretary of the Italian Social Movement.Michelini was born in Florence. An accountant by profession, he was a lower to middle-ranking figure in the National Fascist Party, rising to become secretary of the party in Rome...
in 1954, although he continued to be a leading MSI figure. He was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
in 1953 and the Italian Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
in 1968, made honourary President of the MSI in 1955 and was also unsuccessful candidate for the President of Italy in 1964.