Antonio Malito

Antonio Raffaelle Malito
Malito in 1978
President of Adamantina
In office 1 January 1948 – 1 October 1953
Preceded by	Brancaleone Polino
Succeeded by	Ginevra Malito
In office 1 January 1976 – 1 January 1989
Preceded by	name
Succeeded by	name
Vice President of Adamantina
In office 1 January 1944 – 1 January 1948
President	Brancaleone Polino
Preceded by	Sosteneo Neglia
Succeeded by	Ginevra Malito
Chairman of the Solidarista Party
In office 1 January 1949 – 1 January 1989
Deputy	Domezio Bartone
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Ginevra Malito
President of the CLA–AIO
In office 1 January 1977 – 1 January 1989
Preceded by	Corbiniano Aresco
Succeeded by	Gianluigi Pierotti
Personal details
Born	Antonio Raffaelle Malito (1910-09-08)September 8, 1910 Porto Pellegrini, Adamantina
Died	September 21, 1989(1989-09-21) (aged 79) Adamantina
Citizenship	Adamantinan
Political party	Solidarista Party Liberal Party Social Democratic Labor
Spouse	Ginevra Malito (m. 1935)
Children	7
Alma mater	Military Academy of the Adamantine Army
Occupation	Soldier, politican

Antonio Raffaelle Malito (born 8 September 1910 – August 21 1989) was an Adamantine general and politican. Serving as the Secretary of the Interior and as the Vice President of Adamantina from 1944 to 1948 he was elected President of Adamantina two times, serving from 1949 to 1953, when he was deposed by the Cabala delle Ombre. Malito was reelected in 1976 during the Asterian Spring, serving until his death in August 1989.  

During his presidential terms, Malito was supported by his life-long wife Ginevra Malito, who served as his vice president and succeeded him after his death. Both were popular among the Adamantine working class. Malito worked to dignify labor and alleviate poverty throughout the country, and was widely supported by the institutionalized power of organized labor. From 1977 to 1989 he served as the President of the Confederation of Labor and Assembly of Industrial Organizations (CLA–AIO), and from 1949 to 1989 served as the Chairman of the Solidarista Party. During the military Junta of the Cabala delle Ombre, his party and supporters were banned from government, forcing many into exile. Throughout his term as president, the country saw periods of increased industrialization and prosperity, although during his last term the economy began to decline into recession.

Considered by many within political academia as a controversial figure, he and his wife are regarded as icons by those within the Solidarista Party.

Biography

Early life and education

Antonio Malito's childhood home in Aventijn, Porto Pellegrini, where he lived with his three brothers and four sisters.

Antonio Raffaelle Malito was born in Porto Pellegrini, Federal District of Porto Pellegrini, on 8 September 1910. He was the son of Edgardo Malito and Liviana Malito. The Malito family descends from Carvagna in central Etruria, from which is great-grandfather emigrated in the 1840s. Malito also had ancestral connections with Carinthia, Novalia and Gaullica. His parents both came from a long lineage of stevedores, who worked in the ports of Etruria and later Adamantina. Antonio grew up with three bothers and four sisters in a small home in the neighborhood of Aventijn, Porto Pellegrini.

Malito's father worked at the Port of Pellegrini, the predecessor of the Port of Pellegrini and Prosperita. Malito attended one of Porto Pellegrini's most prestigious public schools, Sangermano Polytechnic where he excelled in mathematics. He was not among the more popular Sangermano students, who were considered more gifted academically and was considered by his instructors as rebellious. Around the age of 14 he was enrolled into the Junior Military Academy of Porto Pellegrini, which secured him a path to attend the Military Academy of the Adamantine Army in Salination. Malito's discipline improved and was inducted into the Order of the Crisantemo, a exclusive military fraternity at the academy. During his junior year he became the editor-in-chief of the school's daily newspaper, the Academy Daily. During his time as editor-in-chief, Malito maintained a strong nationalistic and conservative outlook in relation to domestic and foreign affairs. Antonio graduated from the Military Academy in 1931 with B.A in history and was commissioned into the Adamantine Army at the age of 21.

Military career

Malito began his military career as a artillery officer at a post in Cesaro, Sarno. While at post, Malito joined the local party apparatus of the National Front, as the party was supportive of the military's irredentist desire to incorporate Gapolania as the 18th province of the republic. Due to his proximity to the Gapolanian border, he oversaw several military war games simulating an invasion of the neighboring country. In 1933 he believed that Adamantina would incorporate Gapolania by 1950. In 1934, roughly 3 years after his posting, Malito was instructed to quell labor unrest in Sarno's mining community of Montevecchio. After failing to mediate the dispute, and reluctance to fire upon protestors, he was relieved of his command of Cesaro by General Ivanoe Martucci and was relocated to Porto Pellegrini where he was brought on to preform staff duties.

During his time in Porto Pellegrini, he assisted General Martucci in plotting the overthrow of sitting president Domezio Andreoni. Andreoni discovered the plot in 1936 during his campaign for his second presidential term. Andreoni approached Malito regarding the plot, offering him the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense if he successfully rallied support within the military to defend civilian control. Malito succeeded in swaying a majority of military staff commanding the various military districts to turn on Martucci. On the eve of the planned coup, Malito and his supporters detained Martucci and his allies in a highly sophisticate operation. Martucci and his supporters were executed in mass by Malito's forces at the direction of Andreoni. After Anreoni's reelection, Malito assumed the position as Deputy Secretary of Defense and raised in status within the Liberal Party which at the time was the primary opposition to the National Front. Malito was the youngest appointed Deputy Secretary, assuming the office at only 27 years old.

Early political career

Antonio Malito as the Deputy Secretary of Defense in 1938.

While serving as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Malito sought to modernize the Adamantine military but faced a series of obstacles in the Senate which at the time was appointed by the provincial legislatures. Additionally, the National Front dominated Senate sought to stop all legislation from the Liberal controlled Chamber of Represeantives at any cost. This political gridlocked pressured Malito to consider alternative political ideologies, and became enthralled by socialism and the empowerment of the working class. In 1939 he refused to obey Andreoni in crushing the 1939 Adamantine General Strike, and openly supported the labor unions in their crusade for shorter working hours and higher pay. Shortly after his display of defiance, Malito resigned from his position as Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Brancaleone Polino approached Malito in late 1939, encouraging him to run as a representative for Porto Pellegrini as a Liberal candidate. Malito refused the offer and instead returned to his position as an artillery officer in Sarno. Malito's position within the labor movement greatly increased as he began to frequent the meetings of Confederation of Labor and Assembly of Industrial Organizations, where he offered fiery speeches in support of workers. Malito was dishonorably discharged from the Adamantine Army prior to the 1940 presidential election by an administrative order from Andreoni. Polino won the presidential election as a liberal and immediately rehabilitated Malito and promoted him to Deputy Secretary of Labor. Under Malito the Department of Labor established the Commission for Labor Relations, which legalized the collective bargaining power of labor unions. Liberal Represeantives and Senators began to question Malito's position, and saw him disruptive for business, and in 1943 pressured president Polino to remove Malito from office. Malito's removal from his position, led to his withdrawal from the the Liberal Party, joining the Social Democratic Labor Party.

Vice president of Adamantina (1944-1948)

Affonso Venezia, a high ranking member of the Liberal Party and Mayor of Porto Pellegrini joined the Social Democratic Labor Party in May of 1944. This defection quickly led to the media to suspect Venezian's intentions to run for President, leading many in the Social Democratic Party to court him for the position. Malito disagreed with Venezia's policy decisions in Porto Pellegrini, viewing him as being too comfortable with business leaders and political insiders. The Confederation of Labor and Assembly of Industrial Organizations were quick to announce their concerns regarding Venezia's admission to the party, suspecting an ideological coup. Venezia approached Malito to be his Vice-President, which was received well among the socialist wing of the party. The Social Democratic Labor Party announced their first primary election on May 20th, with voting commencing on July 24th the same year. Malito, although not the Chairman of the Party, organized the party's primary. It was the first full suffrage primary in the nation's history, allowing every party member above the age of 17 the ability to vote.