Cesare Mori
Cesare Mori | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Senate of the Kingdom | |
| In office 10 January 1928 – 5 July 1942 | |
| Appointed by | Victor Emmanuel III |
| Prefect of Palermo | |
| In office 1 November 1925 – 1 June 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Angelo Barbieri |
| Succeeded by | Umberto Albini |
| Prefect of Trapani | |
| In office 2 June 1924 – 12 October 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Giovanni Antonio Merizzi |
| Succeeded by | Francesco Venuto |
| Police commissioner of Castelvetrano | |
| In office 1909–1915 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 December 1871 Pavia, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 5 July 1942 (aged 70) Udine, Friuli, Kingdom of Italy |
| Political party | National Fascist Party |
| Spouse(s) |
Angelina Salvi (m. 1897–1942) |
| Alma mater | University of Palermo (Hd) |
| Profession | Soldier, police officer, politician |
| Nickname | "The Iron Prefect" |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Italy |
| Branch/service | Royal Italian Army |
| Years of service | 1895–1898 |
| Rank | Soldier |
| Battles/wars | None |
Cesare Mori (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃeːzare ˈmɔri, ˈtʃɛː-]; 22 December 1871 – 5 July 1942) was a prefect (prefetto) before and during the Italian Fascism period. He is known in Italy as the "Iron Prefect" (Prefetto di Ferro) because of his iron-fisted campaigns against the Sicilian Mafia in the second half of the 1920s.
Mori described himself as a Fascist, and wrote strongly of his admiration of the effectiveness of both the National Fascist Party and Benito Mussolini several times in his self authored accounts in Sicily, "What caused the undoubted efforts made in the past to peter out was a feeling of listlessness, in the minds of the people which seemed refractory even to unusual stimulants. It was not a reality, it was not a fact, but a feeling; yet the past was infected and dominated by it until the day when, on the coming of Fascism, the Duce in person broke the evil spell." Mori is also known for being the first to ever destroy the influence of the Mafia within Italy. The 1977 film Il prefetto di ferro, directed by Pasquale Squitieri, is about his fight against the Mafia when he was prefect in Sicily.