Vittorio Emanuele Orlando

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (vēt-tô´rēō āmänwĕ´lā ōrlän´dō), 1860–1952, Italian statesman and jurist. He held several cabinet posts from 1903 to 1917 and was premier from 1917 to 1919. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, he demanded the fulfillment of the secret Treaty of London of 1915, by which the Allies had promised Italy ample territorial compensation ...

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (vēt-tô´rēō āmänwĕ´lā ōrlän´dō), 1860–1952, Italian statesman and jurist. He held several cabinet posts from 1903 to 1917 and was premier from 1917 to 1919. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, he demanded the fulfillment of the secret Treaty of London of 1915, by which the Allies had promised Italy ample territorial compensation in Dalmatia for its entry into World War I. Meeting stubborn opposition from Woodrow Wilson and failing to secure British or French support, he dramatically left the conference in Apr., 1919, but returned in May. Even then no solution satisfactory to Italy was found; Orlando resigned and was succeeded as premier by Francesco Nitti. Opposing Fascism, Orlando gave up (1925) his seat in parliament and devoted himself to teaching and writing.