Antonino Paternò Castello
| Antonino Paternò Castello, Marchese di San Giuliano | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
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In office 24 December 1905 – 8 February 1906 |
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| Prime Minister | Alessandro Fortis |
| Preceded by | Alessandro Fortis |
| Succeeded by | Count Francesco Guicciardini |
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In office 31 March 1910 – 16 October 1914 |
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| Prime Minister |
Luigi Luzzatti Giovanni Giolitti Antonio Salandra |
| Preceded by | Count Francesco Guicciardini |
| Succeeded by | Sidney Sonnino |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Antonino Paternò Castello 9 December 1852 Catania, Italy |
| Died | 16 October 1914 (aged 61) Rome, Italy |
| Political party | Historical Right |
Antonino Paternò Castello, Marquis di San Giuliano (Catania, 9 December 1852 – Rome, 16 October 1914), was an Italian diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Antonino Paternò Castello was born in Catania, Sicily, in a family of ancient Sicilian nobility. Inhis younger years he studied economics and sociology, and published articles on agriculture, industry, population, labour legislation, and emigration in various journals.
In 1882 he was elected to parliament and aligned himself with Sidney Sonnino, representing the conservatives who identified with the old Historical Right. In the early years of the 20th century, he focused on foreign policy in the years of the polarization of European powers into the Triple Alliance and Triple Entente blocs. He was convinced that Italy's national interest could best advanced by balancing itself between the two competing alliances.
He conducted a policy of friendship toward France, while remaining faithful to Italy's commitments to Austria-Hungary and the German Empire. He served as foreign minister (1905–06), ambassador to London (1906–09), ambassador to Paris (1909–10), and foreign minister (1910–14). An advocate of colonial expansion, his diplomacy cleared the way for the occupation of Libya during the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912). He resisted the expansion of Austria-Hungary in the Balkans, supported Italian economic penetration of Montenegro, and the independence of Albania.
When World War I broke out, he implemented a policy of neutrality but did not rule out intervention, according to Prime Minister Antonio Salandra's policy of "sacred egoism" (sacro egoismo). Negotiating with both the Triple Entente and Triple Alliance powers, he insisted on gaining maximum territorial concessions for participation in the war to fulfill Italy’s irrendentist claims.
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