Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (May 19 1860 - December 1 1952) was an Italian diplomat and political figure. He was born in Palmero, Italy. A liberal, he served in various roles in the governments of Antonio Salandra and Paolo Boselli. After the Italian military disaster at Caporetto on October 25, 1917, which led to the fall of the Boselli government, Orlando became Prime Minister, and continued in that role through the rest of the war. Although, as prime minister, he was the head of the Italian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Orlando's inability to speak English and his weak political position at home allowed the conservative foreign minister, Sidney Sonnino, to play a dominant role. Orlando resigned on 23 June 1919, following his inability to acquire Fiume for Italy in the peace settlement.