| 1842 |
Giovanni
Giolitti is born in Mondovi (Piemonte) on October 27 to
his father Giovenale Giolitti, an officer of the court
and mother Enrichetta Plochił; |
| 1861 |
Giolitti
graduates from the law school at the university of Turin; |
| 1869 |
After a short
tenure at the royal court in Turin he transfers to the Italian
Government and is appointed to Secretary of State; |
| 1872 |
Giolitti is
appointed to the position of Secretary General of the
Ministry of Finance and moves to Rome; |
| 1882 |
Prime Minister
Agostino Depretis (1813-1887) appoints Giolitti to Privy
Council. He is also a Liberal member of the Italian
Parliament; |
| 1885 |
Giolitti
openly opposes Prime Minister Depretis and leads the
opposition with respect to financial policies; |
| 1889 |
Giolitti is
nominated Minister of Finance (Treasury Secretary) by
Prime Minister Crispi; |
| 1890 |
Giolitti steps
down as Minister and becomes the lead opponent to
Italy's financial policies representing the leftist
liberal party; |
| 1892 |
Giolitti is
nominated Prime Minister; |
| 1893 |
Following
accusations of foul play and involvement in a
substantial bank scandal, Giolitti steps down as Prime
Minister; |
1901-
1903 |
King Vittorio
Emanuele III nominates Giolitti Minister of Interior
under Prime Minister Zanardelli. Given his vast
experience in government affairs he is viewed as the actual
head of state and succeeds in molding most of the
government policies; |
1903-
1905 |
As Prime
Minister he attempts to integrate the Italian workers
and labor movement with the liberal Monarchy. He
believes that succeeding in this unification would
promote Italy's industrialization; |
1906-
1909 |
Now a Prime Minister
for the 3d time, Giolitti moves Italy away from the
Tri-State treaty Italy enjoyed with the Austria-Hungarian
and the German Monarchies over issues of power over the Balkan
states; |
| 1911 |
Giolitti is
nominated Prime Minister for the 4th time. His
attempt to facilitate the participation of the Socialist
Party in the Italian government fails due to opposition
of the party's revolutionary wing; |
| 1912 |
Introduction
of General Elections and government controlled Social
(Security) Insurance; |
| 1914 |
Following
parliamentary elections in February that led to
increased power by Conservatives and the Socialists,
Giolitti steps down as Prime Minister. By August,
the debate about Italy's participation in WW1 leads to a
strongly divided Italy. The Nationalists and radical
Republicans favor Italy's participation while the
parliamentary majority led by Giolitti favor neutrality; |
| 1915 |
Giolitti
becomes Leader of the Opposition in May and hopes that
his party's parliamentary majority will help bring the
Salandra government down. During mass demonstrations,
the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio agitates the crowd to kill
Giolitti. Giolitti's departure from Rome finally leads
to the break-up of the opposition by the Neutralist
party; |
1915-
1918 |
Italy
participates in WW1 under the Entente. However at
the conclusion of the war, Italy is not awarded the
Balkan territories it requested; |
| 1920 |
In the wake of
post war's political and economic crisis, Giolitti is
again nominated Prime Minister. He signs an accord with Yugoslavia
and ends the occupation of the city Fiume (today known
as Rijeka) by force; |
| 1921- 1922 |
Giolitti steers
Italy on an integration course to include the
first-time elected Fascists. As he fails in this
attempt, he steps down as Prime Minister and limits
himself to the Opposition; (He is followed by Luigi
Facta in 1922) |
| 1926 |
Giolitti openly
opposes Benito Mussolini's government; |
| 1928 |
In what was to
be his last major speech to the parliament, 85-years old
Giolitti calls for opposition to Mussolini's proposed
election reform which in his words was equal to the
dissolution of the constitution. Giovanni Giolitti dies
on July 17 in Cavour, Piedmont. |
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