Luca Brunelli

Gran Custodé Luca Brunelli
Brunelli in his formal military attire (1934)
1st Gran Protettoré di Mansilla
In office February 11, 1937 – August 1, 1937
Monarch	none
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	position abolished
1st Gran Custodé di Regno di Mansilla
In office August 1, 1937 – November 22, 1960
Monarch	Fernando II
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Lorenzo di Amaretti
Personal details
Born	Luca Fantino Antonio Alonso di Brunelli (1892-06-29)June 29, 1892 Sanclaro, Mansilla
Died	November 22, 1960(1960-11-22) (aged 68) Campanattre, Mansilla
Cause of death	Assassinated
Nationality	Mansillian
Political party	Mansillan National Front (1930s-1937) Party of Mansilla (1937-1960)
Spouse(s)	Sofia Brunelli (m.1922)
Children	Antonio, Francesco, and Valentina
Known for	Overthrowing the Ferera Dynasty
Military service
Allegiance	Mansilla
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1911-1937
Rank	Major-General

Luca Brunelli (June 29, 1892 - November 22, 1960) was a 20th century Mansillian ultranationalist politician, self-stylized populist, war hero, and junta leader who overthrew the Ferera Dynasty in 1937 and established the modern Mansillian government. Before becoming the de facto leader of Mansilla following the coup, Brunelli was a respected Field Marshal in the court of Stephano X, a position he exploited extensively for political clout and the organizing of revolutionaries. After serving as the functional ruler of Mansilla for more than three decades, Brunelli was assassinated by socialist partisans while driving to a royal function in 1960.

Biography

Assassination

Late in the evening on November 22, 1960, while travelling to a ribbon cutting ceremony in Campanattre, a small city northwest of Sanclaro, Brunelli's motorcade was ambushed by socialist partisans staged in the thick brush along the side of the road. Brunelli and his wife, Sofia, were riding in the back of a convertible with the top down at the time of the attack, and had no opportunity to escape the hailstorm of bullets. Brunelli was shot more than thirty times in the span of a few seconds, dying instantly or near instantly from a bullet which pierced his heart and coronary artery. Sofia Brunelli and the Brunellis' chauffer were both killed in the ambush, as well.

Legacy

To say that Luca Brunelli constructed and carefully cultivated a cult of personality around himself over the course of his three decade run as Prime Minister of Mansilla would be a wild understatement. According to the official Mansillan narrative, the entire nation mourned Brunelli's death for months, wearing only black, formal wear in public until well into 1961. By the account of the same source, women could be seen weeping in the street at the thought of living without their glorious leader for years to come. In the years following Brunelli's assassination, more than a dozen settlements were renamed to "Brunelli," notably including the Mansillan capital, Cerano (now "Brunelli"). Additionally, hundreds, if not thousands of marble statues of Brunelli were constructed and erected in town squares and the courtyards of official buildings around the nation. Many still remain, though more recent Mansillan leaders have attempted to distance themselves somewhat from Brunelli, leading to many of these statues being taken down in recent decades.

Brunelli was succeeded by his handpicked successor, Lorenzo di Amaretti, as Prime Minister (Gran Custode) of Mansilla, who diligently continued Brunelli's "war on degeneracy," though di Amaretti gradually phased out some of Brunelli's more draconian policies and punishments.