Alberto De Stefani
Encyclopedia
Alberto De Stefani was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 politician. Coming from a background in liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 to Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

's fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...

, De Stefani was in charge of Italian economics from 1922 to 1925. His time in charge was characterized by laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....

 ideals.

Finance Ministry

De Stefani was appointed by Mussolini in 1922 as the finance minister. He was a liberal economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

 and so favoured policies such as free-trade, lowering taxes without too much government interference and privatisation of businesses such as the communications industry. He also undertook a thorough reform of the taxation system in Italy which was adjudged a success at the time, although it has been noted that the reforms he enacted had been laid out by his predecessor Filippo Meda but not enacted. De Stefani took advantage of the dictatorial powers afforded to Mussolini's regmie to enact these reforms, which had previously been blocked by parliament.

The economy prospered under de Stefani's direction, as part of a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

-wide growth, although wages also fell under his direction. He accomplished his goal of a balanced budget
Balanced budget
A balanced budget is when there is neither a budget deficit or a budget surplus – when revenues equal expenditure – particularly by a government. More generally, it refers to when there is no deficit, but possibly a surplus...

 for the financial year 1924-25. By mid 1925 however the economy was heading towards crisis and Mussolini dismissed de Stefani, replacing him with the corporatism Giuseppe Volpi
Giuseppe Volpi
Giuseppe Volpi, 1st Count of Misurata was an Italian businessman and politician....

.

Later political career

Although removed from his position as minister de Stefani remained a member of the Grand Council of Fascism until the collapse of Mussolini's regime. From this position de Stefani often criticised some of the actions of Mussolini's government. Although an economic liberal he was socially conservative and in 1928 launched an attack on what he felt was the "abundantly liberal" legislation being passed on marriage, arguing that those who chose not to procreate should be denied the same legal rights as parents. He would later become associated with a tendency that included fellow movement veterans Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono
Emilio De Bono was an Italian General, fascist activist, Marshal, and member of the Fascist Grand Council . De Bono fought in the Italo-Turkish War, World War I, and the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.-Early life:De Bono was born in Cassano d'Adda...

, Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...

 and Luigi Federzoni
Luigi Federzoni
Luigi Federzoni was a twentieth-century Italian nationalist and later Fascist politician....

 that was highly critical of the introduction of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

-influenced racial laws into Italy.

Academic career

Away from politics de Stefani served as a lecturer in economics at the Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...

 Institute of Technology. He later was appointed a professor at the University of Rome.
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