Edoardo Daneo was the scion of an influential Piedmont family. He received a degree in jurisprudence from the University of Turin in 1872. After practicing law for a number of years, he embraced a career in politics. He held numerous posts in the administration of the city of Turin, including serving as town councilor from 1884 to 1914. In his role as secretary of the Committee for the Exposition of Turin in 1884, he wrote the Relazione Generale on the Exposition. In the third Crispi government (1893-1896) he served as Undersecretary for the Ministry of Justice. He was appointed Minister of Public Education in the second Sonnino government (1909 -1910) and first Salandra government (March-November 1914), and Minister of Finance in the second Salandra government (November 1914 – June 1916). Edoardo Daneo played a prominent role in drafting the legislation for the country’s primary education system, which became law under the name of the Daneo-Credaro bill of June 1911.