Benito Mussolini

Italian dictator

Also known as: Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, Il Duce

Written by

Christopher HibbertAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

May 27, 2026 •History

Benito Mussolini (born July 29, 1883, Predappio, Italy—died April 28, 1945, near Dongo) was the Italian prime minister (1922–43) and the first of 20th-century Europe’s fascist dictators. Mussolini was the first child of the local blacksmith. In later years he expressed pride in his humble origins and often spoke of himself as a “man of the people.” The Mussolini family was, in fact, less humble than he claimed—his father, a part-time socialist journalist as well...