Piero Galimberti
Piero Galimberti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 32nd President of Marirana | |
| In office 8th July 1952 – 15th October 1953 | |
| Vice President | Vacant |
| Preceded by | Jordi i Teixidor |
| Succeeded by | Antonio Michelozzi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 14, 1908 Ayotoxco, Marirana |
| Died | December 25, 1967 (aged 59) Monticello, Marirana |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Cantone (m. 1928–1967) ; his death |
| Profession | Soldier |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Sotirian State of Marirana (1926-1934) Provisional Government of Marirana (1934-1940) Sixth Mariranan Republic (1940-1960) |
| Branch/service | Air Force |
| Years of service | 1926–1960 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Battles/wars | Great War Lanzstra rebellion |
Air marshal Piero Galimberti ( was a Mariranan military officer who served as the president of Marirana from July 1952 to October 1953. Taking power following the fall from power of president Jordi i Teixidor. Galimberti played an important role in the democratisation process that led to the eventual signing of the Pact of Democracy. He was nicknamed the "Peasant President" due to his humble origins.
Galimberti was born in 1908 joining the aviation section of the Marianan navy in 1926 during the Great War under officer Niccolò Pellegrini. Galimberti joined Pellegrini in defecting to the pro-Grand Alliance National Liberation Council in 1934 where he served as a close ally to both Pellegrini and general Antonio Michelozzi. He was dismissed from the NLC in 1937 alongside Michelozzi and removed from the military by NLC chairman Edoardo Braghetto but was reinstated by Pellegrini after the latter was elected president in 1940. He played an important role in the creation of the Mariranan air force from being its own entity rather than a branch of the navy.
Galimberti maintained influence under Jordi i Teixidor thanks to his political neutrality and commitment to republican institutions. When i Teixidor fled Marirana after widespread dissatisfaction with his governance Galimberti was installed as president thanks to his existing clout within the military alongside his connections with the political opposition. As president Galimberti's main focus was on political liberalisation after the authoritarianism of the i Teixidor years although he maintained the ban on the Collectivist Party of Marirana. He also launched the beginning of import-substitution industrialisation policies. Galimberti presided over democratic elections in 1953 which saw his old colleague Michelozzi become president with Galimberti being a key figure in the creation of the Pact of Democracy that allowed for a peaceful transition of power.
Early life
Galimberti was born in 1908 in the small town of Ayotoxco, an isolated town in the rural highlands of Catacosi. His parents were of partial indigenous descent with Galimberti having several brothers and sisters. His family suffered during the Great Hardship with Galimberti later recounting how his family trekked across the country to the city of Aquinas. Galimberti received religious education in Aquinas learning to read at the age of 6 leaving school at the age of 16 to work as an apprentice to a shoe maker.
In 1928 he married Maria Cantone whom he met as a typewriter employed by the government whilst studying at the Sant'Agata Aviation Academy. They would go on to have five children, 4 girls and a boy.
Military career
In 1926 at the start of the Great War Galimberti was conscripted into the Mariranan army, electing to join the navy as an ensign. In 1927 he was transferred to the Naval Aviation Corps, which served as the de facto airforce of Marirana in both a ground support and interception roles serving as a flight cadet training at the Sant'Agata Aviation Academy that was founded in 1926. At the academy he met fellow naval aviator Niccolò Pellegrini who would become his commanding officer in 1929. Galimberti was assigned to a combat squadron in 1929 where he recorded 7 victories in combat mainly against the Asterian airforce. In 1932 he was severely injured in the hip after aerial combat, becoming out of action for a year.
In 1934 he alongside his commanding officer Pellegrini defected from the Sotirian State of Marirana to the Provisional Government of Marirana, a collection of anti-Castello generals including Pellegrini, Antonio Michelozzi, Jordi i Teixidor and Edoardo Braghetto. Pellegrini was soon appointed as the chief of staff to Michelozzi with Galimberti serving under as his assistant. Galimberti was in October 1934 appointed as the military governor of the Umbertide region where he served alongside Asterian general Jean Espery. As military governor he ordered units within the free Mariranan army to forcibly dissolve Guardia Rurale units. He was promoted to a wing commander in 1935 at the end of the war.
After the war Galimberti was appointed as a member of the National Liberation Council, showing his increasing clout within military circles. He alongside Pellegrini and Michelozzi supported the Asterian occupation forces suppression of the Lanzstra rebellion whilst still acting as the governor of Umbertide. In this role he approved of Asterian tactics of bombing raids and summary executions against Lanzstra rebels which attracted controversy.
In 1937 the head of the NLC, Michelozzi, was forced to resign by the head of the Asterian Civil Administration of Marirana Steven Watters for his nationalist and perceived anti-Asterian attitude. His replacement, Edoardo Braghetto, dismissed members of the NLC deemed to be anti-Asterian as part of a wider purge of the free Mariranan forces. Galimberti due to his proximity to Pellegrini was dismissed from the NLC and as Umbertide governor, being additionally barred from rejoining the military. His service in the war however meant that his dismissal was accompanied by financial compensation that enabled him to buy a property near Monticello where he subsequently worked as a coffee farmer. He was invited by both Michelozzi and Pellegrini to join their Rally for the Republic party but declined out of his distaste for politics.
In 1940 Pellegrini was elected to the presidency over the Asterian-favoured candidate i Teixidor. Pellegrini repealed much of the military purges performed by Watters and Braghetto resulting in Galimberti to be reinstated to the military, receiving a promotion to the rank of air commodore within the newly created Mariranan air force. As one of the most senior officers within the new air force Galimberti focused on carving a distinct role for the air force, decoupling it from its links with the navy and promoting a modernisation of air models from piston aircraft to jet aircraft. In 1944 Galimberti was promoted to the position of air marshal by president Emilio Štromajer, effectively making Galimberti the head of the airforce as a whole.
In 1945 Jordi i Teixidor, Pellegrini's rival, was elected to the presidency. Although Galimberti was personally close to several figures from the Rally for the Republic party he was politically considered neutral supporting republican institutions, a secular state and a civilian controlled military. As such he was not considered to be a political threat by i Teixidor and retained his position as air marshal where he continued to advocate for a modernisation of the air force. A cable from the Asterian embassy in 1950 identified Galimberti as a "hardworking, professional military man" but that he was politically closer to anti-Asterian politicians.