Carlo Alberto Biggini
Carlo Alberto Biggini was an Italian fascist politician who served as Minister of Education before and after proclamation of the Italian Social Republic under Benito Mussolini.Biography
Born in Sarzana, Province of La Spezia, he joined the Blackshirts in 1920, and co-signed the Fascist Intellectuals' Manifesto in 1925. He earned a bachelor's degree in law and political science in 1928, and subsequently taught law at the University of Sassari, and then at the University of Pisa. Biggini asserted himself through his strong belief in corporatism.
Despite a brief collaboration with Anti-fascists, he joined the National Fascist Party in 1928, and became party secretary for the Fascio in La Spezia, being elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1934. He fought in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, and rose to become inspector for the PNF, then Minister of National Education and a Grand Council of Fascism member.
On July 25, Biggini voted against Dino Grandi's proposal for the removal of Mussolini, and stood by the Duce as the Social Republic was created with help from Nazi Germany. The Germans were also instrumental in pressuring him to accept the Ministry again. Placing his seat in Padova, Biggini managed to avoid capture by the partisans in Dongo.
Protected by many Antifascists, he managed to avoid arrest, but fell ill and died under an assumed name in a Milan clinic.
