View source for Pietro Badoglio

{{Short description|Italian military officer (1871–1956)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| name             = Pietro Badoglio
| image            = Pietro Badoglio 3.jpg
| office           = [[Prime Minister of Italy]]
| monarch          = [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Vittorio Emanuele III]]
| 1blankname       = {{nowrap|Lieutenant General}}
| 1namedata        = [[Umberto II of Italy|The Prince of Piedmont]]
| deputy1          = [[Palmiro Togliatti]]
| term_start       = 25 July 1943
| term_end         = 8 June 1944
| predecessor1     = [[Benito Mussolini]]
| successor1       = [[Ivanoe Bonomi]]
| office2          = [[Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start2      = 11 February 1944
| term_end2        = 8 June 1944
| primeminister2   = ''Himself''
| predecessor2     = [[Raffaele Guariglia]]
| successor2       = [[Ivanoe Bonomi]]
| office3          = [[Ministry of the Colonies (Italy)|Minister of the Italian Africa]]
| term_start3      = 11 February 1944
| term_end3        = 8 June 1944
| primeminister3   = ''Himself''
| predecessor3     = [[Melchiade Gabba]]
| successor3       = [[Ivanoe Bonomi]]
| office4          = [[List of viceroys of Italian East Africa|Governor-General]] of [[Italian East Africa]] and [[Italian Ethiopia|Viceroy of Ethiopia]]
| term_start4      = 9 May 1936
| term_end4        = 11 June 1936
| monarch4         = [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Vittorio Emanuele III]]
| 4namedata4       = [[Benito Mussolini]]
| 4blankname4      = Duce
| predecessor4     = ''Offices established''
| successor4       = [[Rodolfo Graziani]]
| office5          = Commissary of the [[Italian East Africa]]
| term_start5      = 28 November 1935
| term_end5        = 9 May 1936
| predecessor5     = [[Emilio De Bono]]
| successor5       = ''Office abolished''
| office6          = [[List of colonial governors of Eritrea|Governor]] of [[Italian Eritrea|Eritrea]]
| term_start6      = 22 November 1935
| term_end6        = 9 May 1936
| predecessor6     = [[Emilio De Bono]]
| successor6       = [[Alfredo Guzzoni]]
| office7          = [[List of colonial governors of Italian Tripolitania|Governor]] of [[Italian Tripolitania|Tripolitania]] and [[Italian Cyrenaica|Cyrenaica]]
| term_start7      = 24 January 1929
| term_end7        = 31 December 1933
| predecessor7     = [[Emilio De Bono]] {{small|(Tripolitania)}}<br />[[Attilio Teruzzi]] {{small|(Cyrenaica)}}
| successor7       = [[Italo Balbo]] {{small|(Governor of Libia)}}
| office8          = [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Italy)|Chief of the Italian General Staff]]
| term_start8      = 4 May 1925
| term_end8        = 5 December 1940
| predecessor8     = ''Office established''
| successor8       = [[Ugo Cavallero]]
| office9          = [[Regio Esercito|Chief of Staff of the Royal Italian Army]]
| term_start9      = 25 November 1919
| term_start10     = 4 May 1925
| term_end9        = 2 February 1921
| term_end10       = 1 February 1927
| predecessor9     = [[Armando Diaz]]
| predecessor10    = Giuseppe Francesco Ferrari
| successor9       = Giuseppe Vaccari
| successor10      = Giuseppe Francesco Ferrari 
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1871|9|28|df=y}}
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1956|11|1|1871|9|28|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Grazzano Monferrato]], [[Piedmont]], Italy
| death_place      = Grazzano Badoglio, Piedmont, Italy
| party            = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| spouse           = {{marriage|Sofia Valania|1904|1942|reason=died}}
| allegiance       = [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| branch           = [[Royal Italian Army]]
| serviceyears     = 1892–1943
| rank             = [[Marshal of Italy]]
| battles          = {{tree list}}
* [[First Italo–Ethiopian War]]
* [[Italo–Turkish War]]
* [[World War I]]
* [[Pacification of Libya]]
* [[Second Italo–Ethiopian War]]
* [[World War II]]
{{tree list/end}}
}}

'''Pietro Badoglio, 1st [[Duke of Addis Abeba]], 1st Marquess of Sabotino''' ({{IPAc-en|US|b|ə|ˈ|d|oʊ|l|j|oʊ}} {{respell|bə|DOH|lyoh}},<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster |Badoglio |access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈpjɛːtro baˈdɔʎʎo|lang}}; 28 September 1871&nbsp;– 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both [[World War]]s and the first [[viceroy]] of [[Italian East Africa]].<ref name=EBweb>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Pietro Badoglio |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pietro-Badoglio |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |date=28 October 2023}}</ref> With the [[fall of the Fascist regime in Italy]], he became [[Prime Minister of Italy]].

== Early life and career ==
{{main|First Italo-Ethiopian War|Italo-Turkish War}}
Badoglio was born in 1871. His father, Mario Badoglio, was a modest landowner, and his mother, Antonietta Pittarelli, was of middle-class background. On 5 October 1888 he was admitted to the Royal Military Academy in [[Turin]]. He received the rank of second [[lieutenant]] in 1890. In 1892, he finished his studies and was promoted to first lieutenant.

After completing his studies, he served with the [[Regio Esercito]] (Italian Royal Army) from 1892, at first as a lieutenant (''tenente'') in [[artillery]]. Badoglio was involved in the [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]] and the [[Italo-Turkish War]].

== First World War ==
At the beginning of Italian participation in the [[First World War]], he was a [[lieutenant colonel]] (''tenente colonnello''); he rose to the rank of [[major general]] following his handling of the capture of [[Monte Sabotino]] in May 1916, and by the late months of 1917 – by now already a [[lieutenant general]] – was named as vice-chief of staff (''sottocapo di stato maggiore'') despite being one of those mainly responsible for the disaster during the [[Battle of Caporetto]] on 24 October 1917. 

With regard to the Battle of Caporetto, although he was blamed in various quarters for his disposition of the forces under his command before the battle, a commission of inquiry rejected most of the criticisms made upon him.<ref name=eb>{{cite EB1922|wstitle=Badoglio, Pietro}}</ref> In the years after the First World War, in which he held several high posts in the Regio Esercito, Badoglio exerted a constant effort in modifying official documents in order to hide his role in the defeat.<ref name="Quirico 2006">{{cite book |last=Quirico |first=Domenico |title=Generali |chapter=I vinti |publisher=Mondadori |year=2006}}</ref>

== Genocide in Libya ==
{{main|Libyan genocide (1929–1934)}}
After the war, Badoglio was named as a [[Senate of the Kingdom of Italy|senator]], but also remained in the army with special assignments to [[Romania]] and the [[United States|U.S.]] in 1920 and 1921. At first he opposed [[Benito Mussolini]], and after 1922 was sidelined by being sent to [[Brazil]] as ambassador. A political change of heart soon returned him to Italy and a senior role in the army, as chief of staff from 4 May 1925. On 25 June 1926, Badoglio was promoted to the rank of [[Marshal of Italy]] (''Maresciallo d'Italia'').

Badoglio was the first sole governor of [[Tripolitania]] and [[Cyrenaica]]{{efn|[[Giovanni Ameglio]] and [[Vincenzo Garioni]] were also unique governors of [[Tripolitania]] and [[Cyrenaica]], but this seemed to be a temporary, not permanent, policy.}} (later amalgamated as [[Italian Libya]]) from 1929 to 1933. During his governorship, he played a critical part (with [[Rodolfo Graziani]], deputy governor of Cyrenaica) in the genocide of Libyan [[Arabs]], which was intended to quell all [[Libyan resistance movement|Libyan resistance to Italian colonial rule]]. On 20 June 1930, Badoglio wrote to Graziani: "As for overall strategy, it is necessary to create a significant and clear separation between the controlled population and the rebel formations. I do not hide the significance and seriousness of this measure, which might be the ruin of the subdued population ... But now the course has been set, and we must carry it out to the end, even if the entire population of Cyrenaica must perish."<ref name=AdG131>{{cite journal |last=Grand |first= Alexander de |title=Mussolini's Follies: Fascism in Its Imperial and Racist Phase, 1935–1940|work=Contemporary European History |volume= 13 |number= 2 |date=May 2004 |p= 131}}</ref> By 1931, well over half of the population of Cyrenaica were confined to 15 concentration camps where many died as a result of overcrowding (and lack of water, food and medicine) while Badoglio's air force used chemical weapons against the Bedouin rebels in the desert.<ref name=AdG131/> On 24 January 1932 (the third anniversary of his appointment), Badoglio proclaimed the end of [[Libyan resistance movement|Libyan resistance]] for the first time since the Italian invasion in 1911.

== Italian invasion of Ethiopia ==
{{main|Second Italo-Ethiopian War}}
[[File:Meeting in Massawa of Emilio de Bono and Pietro Badoglio during the Italian-Abyssinian War.jpg|thumb|Badoglio (at left) and General [[Emilio De Bono]] (at right) at Massawa]]
On 3 October 1935, because the progress of [[De Bono's invasion of Ethiopia|De Bono's invasion of Abyssinia]] was judged by Mussolini to be too slow, Badoglio, who had in the meantime launched a letter campaign against [[Emilio De Bono|Emilio de Bono]], replaced de Bono as the commander. Badoglio asked for and was given permission to use [[chemical warfare|chemical weapons]], using the torture and murder of downed Italian pilot [[Tito Minniti]] during the Ethiopian [[Christmas Offensive|"Christmas Offensive"]] as a pretext for doing so. British historian [[Ian Kershaw|Sir Ian Kershaw]] wrote the "barbarous initiatives in the conduct of the war ''in Ethiopia''" came as a rule from the military elite rather than from Mussolini himself.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Badoglio employed [[mustard gas]] to effectively destroy the Ethiopian armies confronting him on the northern front. He commanded the Italian forces at the [[First battle of Tembien]], the [[Battle of Amba Aradam]], the [[Second battle of Tembien]], and the [[Battle of Shire (1936)|Battle of Shire]]. On 31 March 1936, Badoglio defeated [[Emperor of Ethiopia|Emperor]] [[Haile Selassie]] commanding the last Ethiopian army on the northern front at the [[Battle of Maychew]]. On 26 April, with no Ethiopian resistance left between his forces and [[Addis Ababa]], Badoglio launched his "[[March of the Iron Will]]" to take the Ethiopian capital city and end the war. By 2 May, Haile Selassie had fled the country.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

On 5 May 1936, Marshal Badoglio led the victorious Italian troops into Addis Ababa. Mussolini declared [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|King Victor Emmanuel]] to be the [[Emperor of Ethiopia]], and Ethiopia became part of the [[Italian Empire]]. On this occasion, Badoglio was appointed the first [[viceroy]] and [[governor general]] of Ethiopia and ennobled with the [[victory title]] of ''[[Duke of Addis Ababa]]'' ad personam.

On 11 June 1936, [[Rodolfo Graziani]] replaced Badoglio as viceroy and governor-general of Ethiopia. Badoglio returned to his duties as supreme chief of the Italian general staff. According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, Badoglio even joined the [[Fascist Party]] in early June.<ref>{{cite magazine|url-access=subscription|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,756350,00.html|date=22 June 1936|magazine=Time|title=Guard Changed}}</ref>

== World War II ==
Badoglio was chief of staff from 1925 to 1940, and had the final say on the entire structure of the Armed Forces, including doctrine, selection of officers, and armaments, influencing the whole military environment. He did not oppose the decision of Mussolini and the [[Victor Emmanuel III|King]] to declare war on France and Great Britain. Following the Italian army's poor performance in the [[Greco-Italian War|invasion of Greece]] in December 1940, he resigned from the General Staff. He was replaced by [[Ugo Cavallero]].<ref>Denis Mack Smith, 1983, ''Mussolini'', London: Paladin, p. 306</ref>

By early 1943, there was a widely held belief among the military elite that Italy needed to sign an armistice in order to exit the war. Mussolini needed to be removed, as he was not willing to sign an armistice, nor were the Allies willing to sign an armistice with him. The two men considered to replace Mussolini were Marshal Badoglio and Marshal [[Enrico Caviglia]].<ref>Mack Smith, Denis. ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press 1989, p. 304.</ref> As Marshal Caviglia was one of the few Royal Army officers who was known to dislike Fascism, the king was unwilling to have him as prime minister. Victor Emmanuel wanted an officer who was committed to continuing the Fascist system, which led him to choose Badoglio who had faithfully served Mussolini and committed an array of atrocities in Ethiopia, but who had a grudge against Mussolini for making him the scapegoat for the failed invasion of Greece in 1940.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis. ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press 1989, p. 304.</ref> Moreover, Badoglio was an opportunist well known for his sycophancy towards those in power, which led the king to choose him as Mussolini's successor for he knew that Badoglio would do anything to have power, whereas Caviglia had a reputation as a man of principle and honour.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis. ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press 1989, p. 304.</ref> In a secret meeting on 15 July 1943, Victor Emmanuel told Badoglio that he would soon be sworn in as Italy's new prime minister, and that the king wanted no "ghosts" (i.e. liberal politicians from the pre-fascist era) in his cabinet.<ref>Mack Smith, Denis. ''Italy and Its Monarchy'', New Haven: Yale University Press 1989, p. 304.</ref>

On 24 July 1943, as Italy had suffered several setbacks following the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], Mussolini summoned the [[Fascist Grand Council]], which after [[Dino Grandi]]'s proposal overwhelmingly [[Vote of no confidence|voted no confidence]] in Mussolini. The [[25 Luglio|following day]], Mussolini was removed from government by King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]] and arrested after leaving the king's premises. On 3 September 1943, after lengthy negotiations with the Allies, General [[Giuseppe Castellano]] signed the [[Armistice with Italy|Italian armistice with the Allies]] in [[Cassibile (village)|Cassibile]] on behalf of Badoglio, who was the [[Prime Minister of Italy]]. Wary of the potentially hostile German response to the Armistice and German military countermeasures, Badoglio agreed with the Allies to postpone the formal announcement of the Armistice treaty until the moment the Allies would start to land in mainland Italy, which was planned for 9 September.<ref>Atkinson, Rick. ''The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944''. New York: Henry Holt and Co: 2007, pp. 192–197.</ref>

On 8 September 1943, the armistice document was published by the Allies in the [[Badoglio Proclamation]], while Badoglio himself had not informed the Italian armed forces. The units of the Italian Royal Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force were thus generally surprised by the change and unprepared for swift German actions to disarm them. In the early hours of the following day, 9 September 1943, Badoglio, King Victor Emmanuel, some military ministers, and the chief of the general staff escaped by car from Rome to [[Pescara]] and then sailed on corvette "Bayonetta" to [[Brindisi]] seeking Allied protection.<ref name="Quirico 2006" />

On 29 September 1943, the [[Italian Instrument of Surrender|longer version of the armistice]] was signed in [[Malta]] by both Badoglio and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], commander of [[Allied Force Headquarters]]. On 13 October, Badoglio and the [[Kingdom of Italy]] officially declared war on [[Nazi Germany]]. Badoglio continued to head the government for another nine months. In June 1944 Badoglio resigned and on 18 June 1944, [[Ivanoe Bonomi]] was appointed to the post of prime minister.<ref>{{cite web | title=Badòglio, Pietro - Enciclopedia | url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/pietro-badoglio/ }}</ref>

== Final years ==
Due to [[Cold War|increased tensions with the Soviet Union]], the British government saw Badoglio as a guarantor of an [[anti-communist]] post-war Italy. Consequently, Badoglio was never tried for [[Italian war crimes]] committed in Africa.<ref name="Pedaliu_JContHistory">{{cite journal |author-link=Effie Pedaliu |jstor=4141408 |title=Britain and the 'Hand-over' of Italian War Criminals to Yugoslavia, 1945–48 |id=Special Issue: Collective Memory |first=Effie G.H. |last=Pedaliu |date=1 January 2004 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=503–529 |doi=10.1177/0022009404046752 |s2cid=159985182}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odradek.it/Schedelibri/criminalidiguerra.html |title=Criminali di guerra Italiani |author=Conti, Davide |publisher=Odradek Edizioni |year=2011 |access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref><ref>Di Sante, Costantino (2005) [http://www.ombrecorte.it/more.asp?id=15 Italiani senza onore: I crimini in Jugoslavia e i processi negati (1941–1951)], Ombre Corte, Milano. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20131002054449/http://www.ombrecorte.it/more.asp?id=15 Archived by WebCite®])</ref>

Badoglio died in the ''[[comune]]'' of his birth, [[Grazzano Badoglio]], on 1 November 1956.<ref name=EBweb/>

== See also ==
* [[Royal Italian Army]]
* [[Royal Italian Army during World War II]]
* [[Italian Co-belligerent Army]]

== Bibliography ==
* Pietro Badoglio: ''Italy in the Second World War, memories and documents''. (Transl.: Muriel Currey). Oxford University Press, 1948. Repr. 1976, Greenwood Press: {{ISBN|0-8371-8485-1}}
* Pietro Badoglio: ''The war in Abyssinia''. (Foreword: [[Benito Mussolini]]). London, Methuen Publishers, 1937.
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
*Italian Defence Minister website official [https://web.archive.org/web/20101001033605/http://www.difesa.it/SMD/CaSMD/Capi-SMD/Pietro+BADOGLIO.htm biography of Pietro Badoglio] as Chief of the General Staff
*Armellini, Quirino, and Pietro Badoglio. ''Con Badoglio in Etiopia, Etc.'' 1937. {{OCLC|556812967}}
*Bertoldi, Silvio. ''Badoglio''. Milano: Rizzoli, 1982. {{OCLC|9862086}}
*De Luna, Giovanni. ''Badoglio: Un Militare al Potere''. Milan: Bompiani, 1974. For English translation, see {{OCLC|883962565}}.
*Whittam, John. ''The Politics of the Italian Army, 1861–1918''. London: Croom Helm, 1977. {{ISBN|0-208-01597-3}} {{OCLC|2373034}}
*Del Boca, Angelo. ''La guerra d'Etiopia. L'ultima impresa del colonialismo''. Milan: Longanesi, 2010. {{ISBN|978-88304-2716-7}}.

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/000854}}

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{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Armando Diaz]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chief of Staff of the Italian Army]]|years=1919–1921}}
{{s-aft|after=Giuseppe Vaccari}}
|-
{{s-non|reason=Position established}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chief of the Defence Staff (Italy)|Chief of the Defence Staff]]|years=1925–1940}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ugo Cavallero]]}}
|-
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Emilio De Bono]]<br />{{small|''as'' Commissary of Tripolitania}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commissary of [[Tripolitania]] and [[Cirenaica]]|years=1929–1933|rows=2}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Italo Balbo]]<br />{{small|''as'' Governor of Libia}}|rows=2}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Attilio Teruzzi]]<br />{{small|''as'' Commissary of Cyrenaica}}}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Emilio De Bono]]|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commissary of [[Eritrea]]|years=1935–1936}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Alfredo Guzzoni]]}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=Commissary of the [[Italian East Africa]]|years=1935–1936}}
{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}}
|-
{{s-non|reason=Positions established}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of viceroys of Italian East Africa|Viceroy]] of the [[Italian East Africa]]<br />[[Italian Ethiopia|Viceroy of Ethiopia]]|years=1936}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Rodolfo Graziani]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Melchiade Gabba]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Colonies (Italy)|Minister of the Italian Africa]]|years=1944}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ivanoe Bonomi]]|rows=2}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Raffaele Guariglia]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]|years=1944}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Guglielmo Marconi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[National Research Council (Italy)|President of the National Research Council]]|years=1937–1941}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Fascist Grand Council|Head of the Fascist Grand Council]]|years=1943}}
{{s-non|reason=Position abolished}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Italy]]|years=1943–1944}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ivanoe Bonomi]]}}
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{{s-reg|it}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Addis Abeba]]|years=1936–1956}}
{{s-aft|after=Pietro Badoglio, 2nd Duke of Addis Abeba}}
{{s-end}}

{{Prime ministers of Italy}}
{{Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs}}
{{Marshals of Italy}}
{{Italian Governors of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica}}
{{Italian Governors of Eritrea and Somaliland}}
{{Ministers of Italian Colonies}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badoglio, Pietro}}
[[Category:1871 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Grazzano Badoglio]]
[[Category:Military history of Italy]]
[[Category:World War II political leaders]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Italy]]
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Italy]]
[[Category:Italian military personnel of the Italo-Turkish War]]
[[Category:Italian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Italian military personnel of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War]]
[[Category:Royal Italian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Chiefs of Italian general staff]]
[[Category:Field marshals of Italy]]
[[Category:Colonial officials for Italy]]
[[Category:People of former Italian colonies]]
[[Category:Military history of Addis Ababa]]
[[Category:Italian war crimes in Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Libyan genocide perpetrators]]
[[Category:Second Italo-Senussi War]] 
[[Category:20th-century Italian politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy]]
[[Category:Italian anti-communists]]
[[Category:Italian fascists]]
[[Category:Dukes in Italy]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Maurician medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]