born Aug. 11, 1882, Filettino, Italy
died Jan. 11, 1955, Rome
Italian field marshal and adherent of Benito Mussolini .
He was commander in chief of Italian forces in Libya (193034), governor of Italian Somaliland (193536), and viceroy of Ethiopia (193637). At the outbreak of World War II, he advanced against Egypt from Libya, was defeated by the British under Archibald Percival Wavell , and resigned his post in 1941. After the Italian armistice of 1943, he became defense minister of the German-backed Italian republic. Sentenced to 19 years' imprisonment in 1950, he was released the same year. He later became a leader of the Italian neofascist movement.