15 Facts About Giorgio Almirante

Giorgio Almirante was an Italian politician who founded the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, which he led until his retirement in 1987.

Giorgio Almirante spent his childhood following his parents, who worked in the theatre, in Turin and Rome.

Giorgio Almirante trained as a schoolteacher, but went to work writing for the Rome-based fascist paper Il Tevere.

Giorgio Almirante was influenced by the journalist Telesio Interlandi, who was his ideological mentor.

Giorgio Almirante helped to organise the Italian Social Republic in which he was appointed Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Culture in 1944.

Giorgio Almirante fled Italy after the war but returned in 1946 to set up his own small fascist group.

Giorgio Almirante was chosen as leader of the new party in part because of his low profile, as the higher-ranking members of the fascist regime involved in the MSI opted instead to take on behind the scenes roles.

Giorgio Almirante had intimated his support for the Europe a nation ideas prevalent at the time but failed to convince the party to take a position against De Marsanich's pro-NATO policy.

Giorgio Almirante emphasised the proletarian origins of fascism against the new conservatism and argued for 'quality' rather than 'quantity' in government, endorsing expert-driven elites instead of liberal democracy.

Giorgio Almirante regained the leadership of the party in 1969 following the death of Michelini.

Giorgio Almirante sought to 'historicise' fascism and dropped the more overt references to the ideology from MSI propaganda and rhetoric, notably shelving the black shirt and the Roman salute.

Giorgio Almirante felt that by placing anti-communism at the heart of the MSI's appeal the party could attract both its existing followers and more moderate conservatives and could in time rival Christian Democrats as the main party of the right.

Giorgio Almirante served the MSI in parliament although he was stripped of parliamentary immunity three times: in 1979, he was charged with trying to revive the Fascist Party; and in 1981 and in 1984, he was charged with aiding and abetting Carlo Cicuttini, who had fled Italy after a 1972 Peteano car bomb that killed three policemen.

Giorgio Almirante died in Rome on 22 May 1988, on the same weekend as his former colleagues and fellow Italian Fascist leaders Dino Grandi and Pino Romualdi.

Grandi and Romualdi died on 21 May 1988, and Giorgio Almirante died the following day.