 In 1950, Italian Somaliland was made a United Nations Trust Territory under Italian administration until 1 July 1960.Fears of a possible Communist takeover (especially in the United States) proved crucial for the first universal suffrage electoral outcome on 18 April 1948, when the Christian Democrats, under the leadership of Alcide De Gasperi, obtained a landslide victory.Consequently, in 1949 Italy became a member of NATO.