7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7

destruction of war, he had brought temporary prosperity,

and he retained office in subsequent elections.

In 1948 a reaction against the long monopoly of power

and patronage held by de Valera’s party enabled the oppo-

sition, with the help of smaller parties, to form an interparty

government under John A. Costello. But this precarious

coalition collapsed within three years, ironically, after

declaring Ireland a republic by formal law, an act de Valera

had avoided. De Valera resumed office until 1954, when he

appealed unsuccessfully for a fresh mandate, and Costello

formed his second interparty ministry. No clearly defined

difference now existed between the opposing parties in

face of rising prices, continued emigration, and underde-

veloped agriculture. De Valera claimed, however, that a

strong single-party government was indispensable and

that all coalitions must be weak and insecure. On this plea

he obtained, in March 1957, the overall majority that he

demanded. In 1959 de Valera agreed to stand as a candi-

date for the presidency. He resigned his position as taoiseach

(head of government) and leader of the Fianna Fáil Party.

In June he was elected president and was reelected in 1966.

He retired to a nursing home near Dublin in 1973 and died

there in 1975.

Benito Mussolini

(b. July 29, 1883, Predappio, Italy—d. April 28, 1945, near Dongo)

B

enito Mussolini was the Italian prime minister from

1922 to 1943 and the first of 20th-century Europe’s

Fascist dictators.

Early Life

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an intelligent but

restless and disobedient child. He became a socialist in his