Giovanni Marinelli

Giovanni Marinelli
Giovanni Marinelli
State Undersecretary for Communications
	In office; 5 November 1939 – 13 February 1943
Personal details
Born	18 October 1879; Adria, Kingdom of Italy
Died	11 January 1944 (aged 64); Verona, Veneto, Italian Social Republic
Cause of death	Execution by firing squad

Giovanni Marinelli (18 October 1879 – 11 January 1944) was an

Italian Fascist

political leader.

Biography

Marinelli was born in Adria, Veneto.^[1]

A wealthy man, Marinelli contributed to Fascist success by financing the

Ceka, a secret police organization established on the model of the Soviet Cheka. The Ceka soon established itself as a terrorist squad, and was behind the assassination of Giacomo Matteotti, a prominent member of the opposition to the Fascist régime.^[1]

Tried as instigator of the murder of Matteotti in November 1925, Marinelli was defended by Roberto Farinacci, and eventually sentenced to a light punishment. His close friendship with Benito Mussolini ensured that he did not serve the full term. He remained out of the spotlight during most of the next two decades of Fascist rule, and appears to have been involved in the crushing of internal opposition to Mussolini (including moves inside the PNF). He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy in 1929 and in 1934, and from November 1939 to February 1943 he held the position of Undersecretary of State for Communications.^[1]

As a member of the

firing squad along with former minister of foreign affairs Galeazzo Ciano, Emilio De Bono, Carlo Pareschi, and Luciano Gottardi.^[1]

death penalty at the Verona trial (he got a 30-year sentence), later talked about Marinelli's final months. He described Marinelli in his last three months as an exhausted and dejected man. After Marinelli was sentenced to death, he appeared confused, and Ciano had to explain that they were going to be shot. As he departed his cell for his execution, Marinelli had to be supported by two officers.^[1]