Vittorio Emanuele Orlando

Who was Vittorio Emanuele Orlando?

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando was an Italian diplomat and political figure. He was prime minister of Italy during World War I and was one of the Big Four leaders that built the world order after WWI.

He was born in Palermo, Sicily. His father, a landed gentleman, delayed venturing out to register his son's birth for fear of Giuseppe Garibaldi's 1,000 patriots who had just stormed into Sicily on the first leg of their march to build an Italian nation. In 1897 he was elected in the Italian Chamber of Deputies for the district of Partinico for which he was constantly reelected until 1925. He aligned himself with Giovanni Giolitti, who was Prime Minister of Italy five times between 1892 and 1921.

Aside from his prominent political role Orlando is also known for his writings, over a hundred works, on legal and judicial issues; Orlando was a professor of law.