Benito Mussolini
The truth is that men are tired of liberty. Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy. The twentieth century will be known in history as the century of Fascism. All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state [...] Our program is simple: we wish to govern Italy. They ask us for programs but there are already too many. It is not programs that are wanting for the salvation of Italy but men and will power.
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) was the Prime Minister and, after 1925, the fascist dictator of Italy.
Mussolini attained power through an intimidation event called the March on Rome. The March on Rome can hardly be called a coup d'etat, as the Italian king, Victor Emmanuel III, voluntarily appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister afterward, in 1922, in order to quell the possibility of civil war between monarchists and fascists (a war the king would almost certainly lose, as Mussolini had the support of conservatives, the middle class, and the military). In the 1924 general elections, Mussolini's party secured 65% of the popular vote, demonstrating that the Fascists were a populist reactionary force against the failed liberal government.
Mussolini's power and status were undermined following brutal defeats in the war, including the loss of African colonies, Allied invasions of Sicily and Southern Italy, and the bombing of Rome. On July 25, 1943, King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Mussolini from the office of Prime Minister and issued a warrant for his arrest. On September 8, 1943, Italian General Pietro Badoglio announced an armistice with the Allied powers wherein Italy unconditionally surrendered. Hitler immediately mobilized his forces and Nazi troops invaded and seized control of Northern and Central Italy. The Nazis established a puppet Italian fascist state, led once again by Benito Mussolini until the defeat of the Nazis in 1945.
Soon, a civil war between the fascists and partisans (antifascists) broke out in the puppet state. At the same time, the Allies were creeping up from the south. As the civil war grew even hotter and Nazi troops retreated, Mussolini fled Italy to attempt an escape to Switzerland. It was there he was shot and killed, with his body later being strung up in the streets of Milan.