Adelino da Palma Carlos

Adelino da Palma Carlos ^{? / i} (bornMay 3, 1905inFaro, †October 27, 1992inLisbon) was aPortuguese lawyerandpolitician. After theCarnation Revolutionfrom May 15 to July 17, 1974 and the overthrow of theEstado Novo, he was thefirst Portuguese head of government of theThird Republic.

Since Palma Carlos was an opponent of the dictatorship of Salazar and later Caetano since his youth . He had been known for his liberal attitudes since graduating from Lisbon University . General Spínola , who became transitional president after the Carnation Revolution, therefore appointed him to head the first post-revolutionary government; the General saw him as a counterweight to the radical socialist currents within the MFA . The government led by da Palma Carlos brought together the full spectrum of opponents of the Estado Novo, from the more conservative supporters of Spínola to members of the Communist Party and radical members of the MFA. The more conservative future Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro was a member of his government, as was the later Prime Minister and President Mário Soares as Defense Minister, and the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Álvaro Cunhal , acted as Foreign Minister .

Because Palma Carlos did not manage to align these different currents within his government. In addition, Spínola, the prime minister's mainstay, increasingly came into conflict with the radical forces of the MFA, as Palma Carlos could no longer fully support it. In addition, unofficial, unconstitutional organs of power had formed during the Carnation Revolution, such as the National Salvation Front , which took over the tasks of the overthrown government immediately after the revolution, but was not dissolved when the government of da Palma Carlos took office, and especially of course the MFA. Since Palma Carlos failed in his efforts to disempower these parallel organs of power again, to concentrate the government in his government.

When a proposal by da Palma Carlos on whether the presidential election should be held before, after or at the same time as a constitutional referendum was rejected by all sides of society, he resigned. Given the balance of power within the MFA, Spínola had no choice but to appoint the much more radical Vasco Gonçalves as his successor. Even the more conservative members of the da Palma Carlos government, such as B. Sá Carneiro, no longer belonged to this new government.

After his resignation, Adelino da Palma Carlos withdrew completely from politics.

Since 1928 Adelino da Palma Carlos was married to the lawyer and women's rights activist Elina Júlia Chaves Pereira Guimarães , the only daughter of the Prime Minister of the First Republic, Vitorino de Carvalho Guimarães . He didn't have any children.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Elina Guimarães . Biography on leme.pt, accessed July 9, 2015 (Portuguese).

predecessor	Office	successor
Marcelo Caetano	Prime Minister of Portugal 1974	Vasco Gonçalves