Guido Jung

Minister of Finance (1932 to 1935) Jung, who in 1922 had served as financial attache at the Italian embassy in Washington, D.C., was elevated to the Grand Council of Fascism in the summer of 1932 by virtue of his appointment as Minister of Finance; the senior ministers of the government were also de facto members of the Grand Council. As a senior minister in the cabinet, Jung was also a member of the Grand Council of Fascism, pictured here in 1936. During an official visit by Hermann Göring to Italy, Mussolini assigned Jung to meet with the German minister, prompting David Schwartz of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle to write that "it must have been a lesson in tolerance".

In May 1933, he represented Italy to the United States during tariff discussions and was feted with an official dinner at the White House by President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt.

In a subsequent meeting with Mussolini, U.S. ambassador John W. Garrett reported that "he [Mussolini] was very gratified at the cordiality of Jung’s reception in America".

As minister, Jung helped establish the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale. He was also the Italian delegate to the London Economic Conference and was credited in news reports with "keeping the conflicting elements of the parley from completely disrupting the conference". During the same Conference, he signed an agreement, sponsored by Galeazzo Ciano and at the time kept secret to the world, with the minister of China, T.V. Soong, that concluded the long-lasting negotiations for the settlement of the Boxer Indemnity and the outstanding amount of the Skoda loan with Italy.

Political views In a 1933 interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Jung compared Nazism to Fascism by equating it to the difference between "an infant to a ten-year-old boy". The following year he is on record as referring to Adolf Hitler as a "blockhead" and a "blatherer".

Later years After being released from the cabinet, Jung, then aged 59, volunteered for military service in Ethiopia ultimately commanding 6,000 men. By this point, Jung had stopped adhering to Judaism. In 1935, he was received into the Roman Catholic faith.

The appointment of Jung met with concern from the United States, with the U.S. Army's Psychological Warfare Branch charging that Jung had deep Fascist roots that significantly predated his earlier service as finance minister, possibly extending to the March on Rome.

Jung's second stint as minister was short-lived and he was dismissed after just three months. At his request, he was restored to his military rank and assigned, first, to the 184th Paratroopers Artillery Regiment "Nembo" of the 184th Infantry Division "Nembo" in the Italian Co-belligerent Army, and then to the Combat Group "Folgore". During his service in Africa, and his later service in Europe, he would receive a total of three additional Silver Military Medals of Valor.

Personal life At least two of Jung's brothers also served in the Royal Italian Army during World War I. Guido Jung died in Sicily.