Basic Information
Name: Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini
Nickname: Il Duce, Not Quite as Bad as Hitler (Which Isn't Saying Much)
Born: July 29th, 1883
Died: April 18th, 1945
Nationality: Italian
Hometown: Predappio, Kingdom of Italy
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: Prime Minister of Italy
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: Alessandro Mussolini, Rosa Maltoni
Siblings: Arnaldo, Edvige
Spouse: Rachele Guidi
Children: Benito Albino, Edda, Vittorio, Bruno, Romano, Anna Maria
Friends: Adolf Hitler, Hirohito, Fascists
Foes: Anyone and Everyone Who Wasn't a Fascist. And Communists—Especially Communists.
Analysis
Mussolini the Meanie
Okay, by "meanie," we mean nauseating fascist dictator and all-around scuzzball. But that doesn't rhyme.
Benito Mussolini was Italy's prime minister during World War II. Dictator extraordinaire, he brought fascism to the forefront of European politics while transforming his own government into a single, all-powerful ruling party.
His elaborate propaganda machine worked to exert oppressive political control over nearly every aspect of Italian life and culture, including architectural developments and the activities of the press. In other words, he played puppet master.
Politically, Mussolini started out as a socialist, but following World War I, his attitude took a sharp right. Establishing the first fascist political organization on March 23rd, 1919, he spearheaded the nationalist movement, which quickly gained power. Less than three years later, Mussolini became the 27th prime minister of Italy and a role model for aspiring fascists everywhere. (We're looking at you, Germany.)
Politics al Dente
Once in power, Mussolini intended to remain in power…and he secured his position by deftly "removing" and/or controlling all of his opponents and critics. Perceiving himself as the savior of a nation stricken by postwar destitution, he had absolutely no problem with glorifying himself as a superhuman and even godlike figure.
Sharing similar tastes for totalitarianism, Mussolini and Adolf Hitler officially joined forces in June 1940, while Germany was in the process of invading France. Three months later, the two fascist European nations would team up with Japan to form the Axis powers under the Tripartite Pact.
It was basically the worst super group ever.
Mussolini remained in power until the summer of 1943, when Italy's strength in the war began to buckle under the Allied forces. Voted out of office, he was arrested by decree of King Victor Emmanuel III. However, Mussolini spent only a short time imprisoned (at a hotel mountain resort, by the way) because on September 12th, 1943, the Germans busted him out.
Following his escape from "prison," he established a new regime with the help of Germany in northern Italy called the Italian Social Republic. As you can imagine, it didn't last long.
Ciao!
In April 1945, the end of the war was in sight, and the outcome was clearly not going to be in his favor. After an attempt to escape to Spain, Mussolini was caught by Italian insurgents and executed. The next day, his body was publicly defiled in an act of political protest.
The moral of this story? Don't be a fascist scumbag.