Vittorio Emanuele Orlando facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Senator for life Vittorio Emanuele Orlando


Prime Minister of Italy
In office 30 October 1917 – 23 June 1919
Monarch	Victor Emmanuel III
Preceded by	Paolo Boselli
Succeeded by	Francesco Saverio Nitti
Minister of the Interior
In office 18 June 1916 – 23 June 1919
Prime Minister	Paolo Boselli Himself
Preceded by	Antonio Salandra
Succeeded by	Francesco Saverio Nitti
President of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 15 July 1944 – 25 June 1946
Monarch	Victor Emmanuel III Umberto II
Preceded by	Dino Grandi
Succeeded by	Giuseppe Saragat
In office 1 December 1919 – 25 June 1920
Monarch	Victor Emmanuel III
Preceded by	Giuseppe Marcora
Succeeded by	Enrico De Nicola
Member of the Senate
In office 8 May 1948 – 1 December 1952 Ex officio
Member of the Constituent Assembly
In office 25 June 1946 – 31 January 1948
Constituency	National Constituency
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 5 April 1897 – 21 January 1929
Constituency	Partinico

Personal details
Born	(1860-05-19)19 May 1860 Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Died	1 December 1952(1952-12-01) (aged 92) Rome, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Political party	Historical Left (1897–1913) Liberal Union (1913–1919) Democratic Liberal Party (1919–1926) Italian Liberal Party (1926–1952)
Alma mater	University of Palermo
Profession	Jurist, teacher, politician

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (born May 19, 1860 – died December 1, 1952) was an important Italian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy from October 1917 to June 1919. Orlando is most famous for representing Italy at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. He worked alongside his foreign minister, Sidney Sonnino, at this major meeting.

Orlando was also known as the "Premier of Victory." This nickname came from Italy's success against the Central Powers during World War I. Italy fought alongside the Allies (also called the Entente). After the war, he was a temporary President of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy's parliament) from 1943 to 1945. He was also part of the Constituent Assembly. This group helped change Italy's government into a republic. Besides his political work, Orlando was a law professor. He wrote over a hundred books and articles about legal topics.

Early Life and Political Start

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando was born in Palermo, Sicily. His father was a wealthy landowner. He was so worried about Giuseppe Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand that he waited to register his son's birth. Garibaldi's forces had just arrived in Sicily. They were on their way to unite Italy.

Orlando later taught law at the University of Palermo. He became a well-known expert in law. In 1897, he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. This was Italy's main law-making body. He represented the area of Partinico. He was re-elected many times until 1925. He worked closely with Giovanni Giolitti. Giolitti was Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921.

Orlando as Prime Minister of Italy

Orlando was a liberal politician. He held several important government jobs. In 1903, he became the Minister of Education. He served under Prime Minister Giolitti. In 1907, he was made Minister of Justice. He kept this role until 1909. He returned to the same job in November 1914. This was in the government of Antonio Salandra. Then, in June 1916, he became Minister of the Interior. This was under Prime Minister Paolo Boselli.

Leading Italy During World War I

In October 1917, Italy faced a major military defeat. This happened at the Battle of Caporetto during World War I. The Boselli government fell apart because of this. Orlando then became Prime Minister. He stayed in this role for the rest of the war. He had always strongly supported Italy joining the war.

He successfully led a national unity government called the Unione Sacra. He also helped reorganize the Italian army. Orlando was encouraged to support the Allies. This was because of secret promises made to Italy. These promises were in the London Pact of 1915. Italy was promised new lands in Dalmatia.

Orlando's first action as Prime Minister was to fire General Luigi Cadorna. He replaced him with the respected General Armando Diaz. Orlando also made sure that civilian leaders, not military ones, controlled the army. Cadorna had always fought against this.

Reforming the Military

Orlando's government brought in new rules for Italian troops. These rules treated soldiers better. They also created a more effective military system. General Diaz helped put these changes into action.

A new government department was created for military aid and war pensions.
Soldiers received new life insurance policies to help their families.
More money was spent on propaganda to praise the common soldier.
Annual paid leave for soldiers increased from 15 to 25 days.

General Diaz also made military discipline less harsh. He increased food rations for soldiers. He also used more modern fighting methods. All these changes greatly improved the army's morale. Orlando's government quickly became popular. It helped Italy recover its spirit after the Caporetto disaster. Orlando even promised to retreat to "my Sicily" if needed. He said he would fight Austrian invaders from there.

Victory in the War

General Diaz stopped the Austro-Hungarian attack at the Second Battle of the Piave River. This led to a quiet period on the Italian front. Orlando ordered an investigation into the Caporetto defeat. It showed that military leaders were to blame. He continued to reform the military. However, he refused demands to put generals and ministers on trial.

Under Orlando's leadership, the Italian front became stable. Italy was even able to send troops to the Western Front. This helped their allies. Italy also prepared for a major attack to defeat Austria-Hungary. This attack happened in November 1918. The Italians launched the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. They completely defeated the Austro-Hungarians. This victory happened at the same time as the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Army. It marked the end of World War I on the Italian Front. It also led to the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Because Italy recovered and won the war, Orlando earned the title "Premier of Victory."

The Paris Peace Conference

Orlando (second from left) at the World War I peace talks in Versailles. Also pictured are David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson (from left to right).

Orlando was one of the Big Four leaders. These were the main Allied leaders at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The others were U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

Even though Orlando was Italy's Prime Minister, he couldn't speak English. His political position at home was also not very strong. This allowed his foreign minister, Sidney Sonnino, to play a bigger role. Sonnino was partly Welsh.

Orlando and Sonnino had different ideas. This caused problems during the talks. Orlando was willing to give up claims to Dalmatia. He wanted to gain Rijeka (which Italians called Fiume). This was a very important port on the Adriatic Sea. But Sonnino did not want to give up Dalmatia. In the end, Italy tried to claim both areas. They ended up getting neither. This was partly because of President Wilson's idea of national self-determination. Orlando did support the Racial Equality Proposal from Japan at the conference.

Orlando dramatically left the conference in April 1919. He came back briefly the next month. But he was forced to resign just days before the Treaty of Versailles was signed. He was proud later in life that he did not sign the treaty. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau called him "The Weeper." Orlando himself remembered: "When ... I knew they would not give us what we were entitled to ... I writhed on the floor. I knocked my head against the wall. I cried. I wanted to die."

His failure to get what Italy wanted at the Paris Peace Conference weakened his political power. Orlando resigned on June 23, 1919. This was because he could not get Fiume for Italy. This outcome was called the "Mutilated victory." It was one reason for the rise of Benito Mussolini. In December 1919, Orlando was elected president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. However, he never served as prime minister again.

Later Years and Legacy

When Benito Mussolini took power in 1922, Orlando first supported him. But he stopped supporting Mussolini after the murder of Giacomo Matteotti in 1924. After this, Orlando left politics. He resigned from the Chamber of Deputies in 1925. He stayed out of politics until 1935. At that time, Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia made Orlando feel very patriotic. He briefly returned to public life and wrote a letter supporting Mussolini.

In 1944, Orlando made a political comeback. After Mussolini's government fell, Orlando became a leader of the National Democratic Union. He was chosen as the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies until September 25, 1945. In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Italy. In 1948, he was named a senator for life. He was also a candidate for president of Italy. But he was defeated by Luigi Einaudi. Vittorio Emanuele Orlando died in Rome in 1952.

Images for kids

La riforma elettorale, 1883