Bernardino Machado

Bernardino Machado

Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães [ bɨɾnaɾˈðinu luˈiʃ mɐˈʃaðu gimɐˈɾɐ̃j̃ʃ ] (born March 28, 1851 in Rio de Janeiro , † April 29, 1944 in Porto ) was a politician from the time of the first republic in Portugal . Machado was by far the most important politician of the First Republic, who shaped it more than many others. He was twice (1915 to 1917 and 1925 to 1926) President, also twice (1914 and 1921) head of government of his country and also held various other important ministerial posts.

Life

Machado was born in Brazil . After his family returned to Portugal in 1860, he studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Coimbra from 1866 . In 1882, when Fontes de Melo was still in government , he was elected to the Portuguese Parliament, the Cortes , for the first time for the Regeneration Party. In 1893 he joined the Hintze Ribeiro government as Minister of Public Works . In 1903, disappointed by the monarchy, he switched from the Regeneration Party to the Republican Party , of which he was a party leader between 1906 and 1910.

After the revolution of 1910 and the abolition of the monarchy , he became Foreign Minister in the provisional government of Teófilo Braga . In the first regular presidential elections under the new republican constitution, he was defeated by the opposing candidate Manuel José de Arriaga . Then he went to Brazil as an ambassador. After the division of the Republican Party, he joined the Democrats of Afonso Costa .

President de Arriaga called him back from Brazil in 1914 and instructed him to form a new government. He was head of government from February 9 to December 12, 1914 and at the same time held the office of Minister of the Interior. After the beginning of the First World War , a passionate discussion ensued in Portugal as to whether the country should remain neutral or join the war on the side of the Entente against the Central Powers . Machado was one of the most ardent proponents of entering war. After the end of his government, the first coup against the republic soon took place, President de Arriaga had to resign and the dictatorship of General Pimenta de Castro followed . In 1915 Machado was elected the new President of the Republic. During his presidency, the country eventually entered World War I.

On December 5, 1917, there was a military revolt in Lisbon , as a result of which Captain Sidónio Pais took power and proclaimed the "New Republic" ( a República Nova ). Machado refused to hand over the presidency to Pais, was therefore briefly imprisoned and then had to go into exile in France. After Pais was shot in an assassination attempt in 1918, Machado returned from exile. In 1921 he was again appointed head of government, but the military immediately put on a coup against the second Machado government, so that after only twenty days in office he had to resign on May 23, 1921.

On December 11, 1925, President Manuel Teixeira Gomes resigned. At this point the republic was already in a state of dissolution, and stable government majorities were no longer possible in parliament. This was also the main reason Teixeira Gomes resigned. Machado was elected as his successor and was again President of his country from December 11, 1925. However, he did not succeed in saving the republic.

On May 28, 1926, a coup led by General Gomes da Costa began, which finally heralded the downfall of the republic. On May 30, Machado dissolved parliament, suspended the constitution and appointed Captain Mendes Cabeçadas , one of the few officers still loyal to the republic, as head of government with special powers to defend the republic. The next day Machado finally resigned as president, appointed Mendes Cabeçadas as his successor and fled the country.

Mendes Cabeçadas was overthrown after a short time by da Costa, who in turn had to give way to General Óscar Carmona after a short time . Under this began the rise of Salazar and the dictator of the Estado Novo . Important republican politicians in exile formed the so-called "Paris League" and Machado became one of the most important leaders of the republican diaspora . The Paris League tried from abroad to turn the wheel in Portugal again, but without success.

In 1940, after Machado had reconciled himself with the new rulers in the country, he returned to Portugal without, however, playing a role in the politics of his country. He passed away four years later.

Machado was married once and had 15 children.

See also

• History of Portugal

Web links

• Biography (portuguese)
• Newspaper article about Bernardino Machado in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

predecessor	Office	successor
Teófilo Braga Manuel Teixeira Gomes	President of Portugal 1915–1917 1925–1926	Sidónio Pais José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior
Afonso Costa	Prime Minister of Portugal 1914	Victor Hugo de Azevedo Coutinho
Liberato Ribeiro Pinto	Prime Minister of Portugal 1921	Tomé José de Barros Queirós