Italian Civil Servants in the League of Nations’ Secretariat

Abstract

This chapter offers the first study of the Italian civil servants who worked for the League of Nations’ Secretariat. After introducing this international bureaucracy, the chapter presents a prosopographical study of the Italian officials working for it, with a focus on the civil servants in the higher-ranking positions. By investigating factors such as geographical and social origins, education and previous employment, war experience, and service at the League, it reveals that Italians were present and active in almost every section of the organization for the whole length of Italy’s membership. The chapter uncovers their multiple identities and introduces the fact that their work and lives in Geneva were highly influenced by who the Italian Under Secretary-General at the time was.