SONNINO, SIDNEY. - Statesman, born in Pisa on March 11, 1874, died in Rome on November 24, 1922.
After a seven-year period (1867-73) spent in the diplomatic service, he settled in Rome, where he founded and directed *La Rassegna*, first a weekly and then a daily newspaper, which became the voice of the Right, at that time excluded from power. A deputy from 1880, he served as Undersecretary and Minister of Finance under Crispi, balancing the budget in 1866. Faithful to Crispi even after the defeat at Adua, he became the recognized leader of the constitutional opposition, though he never wished to organize his followers into an independent party. In 1906 and again in 1909, he served briefly as Prime Minister, failing to implement the reforms he envisioned—aimed both at improving the conditions of the working classes and at strengthening state authority through stricter and more precise adherence to the constitutional charter. Opposed by Giolitti and disliked by many for his aloof and disdainful character, in 1914—after the death of San Giuliano—he was called by Salandra to the Foreign Ministry, a position he held until 1918. Born Jewish and Protestant by faith, he ensured that the Treaty of London, which he negotiated, included a clause excluding the Holy See from participation in the future peace conference, and he concluded the agreements of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Rapallo. He continued as Foreign Minister in the cabinets of Boselli and Orlando and was Italy’s chief delegate at Versailles; however, his strained relations with Clemenceau and especially with Wilson prevented him from securing the advantages he had sought for Italy. After the fall of Orlando’s ministry, he withdrew from public life and did not participate in Senate proceedings, despite having been granted the laticlavium in 1920. His final political act was a manifesto opposing the introduction of proportional representation in general elections, which he considered subversive of parliamentary tradition.