Filippo Anfuso

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Filippo Anfuso (January 1, 1901—December 13, 1963) was an Italian writer, diplomat and Fascist politician.

Anfuso was born in Catania. His writing career started with a volume of short stories and poetry he published in 1917. Anfuso subsequently joined as a reporterirredentist poet Gabriele D'Annunzio in his attempt to seize Fiume for Italy (1919-1921). He returned to write for La Nazione and La Stampa, reporting from various foreign countries. A friend of Galeazzo Ciano, he passed the exam for a career in diplomacy at the same time as he (in 1925).

He was appointed to the Swiss Consulate in Munich (1927), then to the missions in Hungary (1929), Germany (1931), the Republic of China (1932), and Greece (1934). Since 1936, Anfuso also seconded on Francisco Franco's side during the Civil War. He was decorated for merit. In 1938, after Ciano was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anfuso became Ministry head of staff.

In 1942 he became Minister in charge of the Italian Legation in Budapest. In 1943, after Mussolini escaped to Northern Italy with Nazi backing, Anfuso served as a diplomat for his newly-founded Italian Social Republic, representing it in Berlin. As Ambassador in Berlin, he had to face the problems related to the presence in Germany of thousands of Italian servicemen deported after the 1943 Armistise. In 1945, he replaced the deceased Serafino Mazzolini as undersecretary for the Republic's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

When war ended in defeat, Anfuso made his way to France, but was soon recognized and arrested. He spent two years in prison, and after having been cleared by the French courts, he then exiled himself to Madrid. In 1950, he returned to Italy, going back to journalism and publishing several books. Having adhered to the Neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, he represented it in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Anfuso died while speaking on the floor in the Parliament in Rome.