Giacomo Acerbo
Giacomo Acerbo,
Baron of
Aterno (
July 25 1888—
January 9 1969), was an
Italian economist and
Fascist politician that drafted the
Acerbo Law, which brought
Benito Mussolini to power.
He was born to an old family of the local nobility of
Loreto Aprutino (
province of Pescara), and was educated in
Pisa, graduating in agricultural sciences from the
University of Pisa in 1912. Acerbo's affiliation with the
Freemasons led him to become an advocate of
irredentism and Italy's entry to
World War I. When war exploded upon the continent, he volunteered for military service. By the end of the war, he was decorated with three silver medals for military valor and promoted to the rank of
captain.
Acerbo resumed his work as an assistant professor in the faculty of economics, and planned for a university career. At the same time, he promoted the Association of Servicemen of
Teramo and
Chieti (
l'Associazione dei combattenti di Teramo e Chieti), which broke away from the national association after the election of 1919 and became the Provincial Combat Group (
il Fascio di combattimento provinciale).
Elected to the
Italian Chamber of Deputies in
1921 with the "national bloc", he acted as a mediator between local
conservative forces and the
Blackshirts; on a national level, Acerbo ensured peace in the open conflict between the
Italian Socialist Party and Fascists, and was elected to a leadership position inside the
National Fascist Party (PNF). During the
March on Rome, Acerbo presided the Chamber as the
coup d'état unfolded, and acted as the link between the PNF and
King Victor Emmanuel III. He then accompanied Mussolini as he was designated
Prime Minister, and became his undersecretary.
He made the Acerbo Law pass in November
1923; he was again deputy in 1924, winning his nobiliar title. Acerbo was marginally involved in the inquiry over
Giacomo Matteotti's killing, and left his position in the government. In 1924 he instituted the
Coppa Acerbo in memory of his brother
Tito Acerbo (a war hero). Giacomo Acerbo was elected vicepresident of the Chamber in 1926, and was Agriculture and Forestry Minister from 1929, dedicating himself to projects for universally-extended
drainage. Together with
Gabriele D'Annunzio, he contributed to the creation of
Pescara Province in January
1927.
Acerbo became head of the Economics and Commerce Faculty at the
University of Rome in
1934, and, from 1935 to
1943, president of the
International Agricultural Institute. A member of the
Grand Council of Fascism, he was a spokeman for the project that torned the Chamber into a representative of Fasci and
Corporazioni.
When
World War II began and Italy joined the
Nazi German offensive, Acerbo served as member of the
Italian Army General Staff during the marginal Italian maneuver in the
Battle of France, and the
Greek campaign. He was also Minister of Finance from February 1943.
On
July 25, Acerbo sided with
Dino Grandi when the latter attempted to topple Mussolini and take Italy out of the war. He voted in favor of the law that stripped
Il Duce of his powers, and took refuge in his homeregion, the
Allied-occupied
Abruzzo - after Mussolini regained some standing with help from the Nazis, establishing the
Italian Social Republic, one that
proscribed all opponents (including Acerbo) during the
Verona trial. Captured by the
Resistance, he was
sentenced to death by the High Court of Justice, a verdict lessened to 48 years in prison. This sentence too was overturned, and Acerbo's name was cleared in 1951, enabling him to resume his teaching career. He received numerous distinctions and titles in
academia, and was awarded a gold medal (in Education, Culture, and Arts) by
President Antonio Segni.
In the elections of
1953 and
1958, Acerbo was an unsuccessful candidate of the
Partito Nazionale Monarchico to the
Italian Parliament.
Acerbo died in Rome in 1969.
He is also remembered for his passion as a collector of ancient pottery, and created a Gallery dedicated to ceramics of the Abruzzo.
