Francesco Maria Barracu
Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Social Republic
In office
23 September 1943 – 25 April 1945
Preceded byoffice created
Succeeded byoffice abolished
Personal details
Born(1885-11-01)1 November 1885
Santu Lussurgiu, Kingdom of Italy
Died28 April 1945(1945-04-28) (aged 59)
Dongo, Italy
Political partyNational Fascist Party
Republican Fascist Party
Military service
Allegiance Kingdom of Italy
 Italian Social Republic
RankColonel
Battles/wars
Awards

Francesco Maria Barracu (1 November 1885 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian Fascist politician and soldier who was the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Social Republic from 1943 to his execution in 1945.

Biography

Born in Sardinia, at age eighteen he enlisted in the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops, and during World War I he served in Libya as an infantry officer. After being discharged on August 31, 1921 he joined the National Fascist Party and obtained various positions within the PNF, including that of President of the Fasces of Sardinia. He fought with the rank of colonel in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, as commander of the 3rd Dubat Battalion, distinguishing himself in the battle of the Ogaden, where he was seriously wounded. He lost an eye following injuries sustained in a clash against Ethiopian guerrillas in Oromia on March 3, 1937; for having refused to leave his post to receive medical assistance in spite of his injury, and for his previous role in the battle of Ogaden, he was awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor.[1][2][3]

After being repatriated, he devoted himself to journalism, especially writing on colonial issues. In 1941-1942 he was Federal Secretary of the Fascist Party in Benghazi, and later in Catanzaro. After the Armistice of Cassibile, he followed Benito Mussolini and participated in the foundation of the Italian Social Republic, helping to convince Marshal Rodolfo Graziani to assume the post of the Minister of National Defense.[1]

He was appointed undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Social Republic, and had a notable role in the transfer to northern Italy of the officials of the ministries and in the organization of the administration of the Fascist puppet state. He tried, without success, to annexate Sardinia to the Italian Social Republic, and later set up a legion of Sardinian soldiers known as the "Giovanni Maria Angioy" Volunteer Battalion, employed in the Julian March; some members of the battalion were parachuted in Sardinia to act as spies and saboteurs.[1][4][5]

During the first meeting of the newborn Republican Fascist Party, Barracu harshly attacked secretary Alessandro Pavolini and minister of the Interior Guido Buffarini-Guidi, unsuccessfully begging the Duce to take their place; he was accused by Giovanni Preziosi of being a member of the Freemasonry. In the final months of the war he sided with the hardliners and asked that Milan not be abandoned, in an attempt to make it the "Alcazar of Fascism".[1][6]

On 25 April 1945 Barracu participated in the meeting between Mussolini and the leaders of the National Liberation Committee hosted by the Archbishop of Milan, Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster. After the failure of the meeting, he followed Mussolini in his escape to Lake Como, but was captured along with other Fascist leaders in Dongo by the partisans, and executed by firing squad on 28 April 1945. Like the other Fascist leaders, he was shot in the back; before the execution he demanded "I am a gold medal, I have the right to be shot in the chest", but was forced to turn. His body was among those put on display in Piazzale Loreto in Milan.[1][7][8][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Renzo De Felice (25 April 1945). "BARRACU, Francesco Maria in "Dizionario Biografico"". Treccani.it. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Tra i caduti della 'guerra civile' anche il sottosegretario di Mussolini, Francesco Maria Barracu: sardo di Santu Lussurgiu (Angelo Abis) | Ad Maiora Media Sardegna". Sardegna.admaioramedia.it. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana".
  4. ↑ "Barracu, l'ultimo gerarca. Intervista con Giovanni Fiora". archiviostorico.info. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  5. ↑ Elisabetta Lantero (June 2014). "Il Senato del Regno tra luglio 1943 e giugno 1944" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Senate. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Aprile 1945: gli ultimi giorni di Mussolini - Panorama". Panorama.it. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "Mussolini: Incontro' Gli Inglesi Con Bombacci E Barracu". .adnkronos.com. 13 January 1993. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Non respirava senza il permesso del Duce – Quotidiano di Bari". Quotidianodibari.it. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
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