Giolitti, Giovanni 1842-1928
Italian politician

Born in Mondovi, he was an astute and unprincipled parliamentary manager. He entered parliament in 1882 as a Liberal and became Francesco Crispi's Minister of Finance in 1889. Prime Minister from 1892 to 1893, he was brought down by a banking scandal. He returned to politics as Interior Minister under Roman Zanardelli in 1901, becoming Prime Minister again from 1903 to 1909, except for a brief spell out of office in 1905-06. As Prime Minister, he sought to combat leftist strikes and disorders through economic policy rather than confrontation, and in foreign policy he strengthened Italy's ties with Austria and Germany. During his fourth spell as Prime Minister (1911-14), he brought Italy into the Tripolitanian War, gaining Libya, Rhodes and the Dodecanese. However, the war resulted in unpopular tax increases and a general strike forced him from office in 1914. In opposition, he tried unsuccessfully (1915) to keep Italy neutral during World War I. His fifth ministry (1920-21) failed to cope with postwar disorder or the violence of the squadristi, and he was unable to block Mussolini's ascent to power.