Melchiade Gabba

Melchiade Gabba (20 August 1874 – 17 November 1952) was an Italian general during the Fascist period, who served as commander of the Royal Corps of Colonial Troops of Eritrea and Chief of Staff of the East Africa High Command during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. From 27 July 1943 to 24 February 1944 he was Minister of Italian Africa of the Badoglio I Cabinet. He was also a Senator of the Kingdom of Italy from 1939 to 1944.

Biography

He was born in Milan on 20 August 1874, the son of Alberto Gabba and Giulia Sozzani, both belonging to the Milanese nobility. On 15 October 1892 he entered the Military College of Milan and then the Royal Academy of Artillery and Engineers of Turin, where he enrolled on 8 August 1895, graduating as artillery second lieutenant. He was then Chief of Staff of the 13th Division, of the 57th Division, and Head of the Operations and General Affairs Office of the Chief of Staff of the Royal Italian Army, General Luigi Cadorna. On 27 July 1943 he was appointed Minister of Italian Africa by Pietro Badoglio (even though Italy had lost all of its African colonies by the spring of 1943), a position he held until 24 February 1944 when this ministry was taken on ad interim by Badoglio himself. In October 1944 he was dismissed from his post as Senator by the High Court for Sanctions against Fascism. He retired to private life after the establishment of the Italian Republic, and died in Rome on 17 November 1952.