born May 19, 1860, Palermo, Italy
died Dec. 1, 1952, Rome
Italian politician and prime minister (1917–19).
He was elected to Italy's Chamber of Deputies in 1897 and served in cabinet positions from 1903. As prime minister, he led Italy's delegation to the Paris Peace Conference , but he was unable to obtain concessions from the Allies for Italian-claimed territory and resigned. As president of the Chamber of Deputies (1919–25), he resigned in protest against the electoral fraud of Benito Mussolini 's Fascist Party. He was president of the postwar Constituent Assembly (1946–47).