Manuel Maria Coelho

Portrait of Manuel Maria Coelho, 1891

Manuel Maria Coelho (born March 6, 1857 in Chaves , † January 10, 1943 in Lisbon ) was a Portuguese officer , politician and Prime Minister (Presidente do Conselho de Ministros) during the First Republic .

Life

Military career, revolutionary and exile

Coelho graduated after school education of high schools in Braga and Porto a military career as an officer in the infantry , the already since 1880 for the ideals of the Republic began. As such, he took part in the republican revolution in Porto on January 31, 1891 . After the uprising was put down, he was exiled to Angola for five years . Later he was one of the few officers who was awarded the commemorative medal of the Revolta do Porto .

After his return from exile in 1896, he tried in vain to found a republican movement. Disappointed about the failure of these efforts, he then took up posts in Angola and later in São Tomé .

First Republic and First World War

After the establishment of the First Republic on October 6, 1910, he was with the rank of major from January 18, 1911 to January 26, 1912 Governor General of Angola . During this time he campaigned for the introduction of a veterinary service and the strengthening of animal husbandry . After that he was temporarily administrative director of the State Treasury ( Caixa Geral de Depósitos ) and the Mozambican Society ( Companhia de Moçambique ). During the First World War in 1914 he became head of an expedition mission in southern Angola to examine the construction of the railway and later a member of a research mission to assess the planting of beetroot in Angola.

In 1917 he was appointed Governor General of Portuguese Guinea , now Guinea-Bissau . Later he was in command of the military hospital of Campolide with the rank of colonel .

Prime Minister 1921

In 1921 he was first elected Member of Parliament ( Assembleia da República ), in which he represented one of the constituencies of Lisbon. After the assassination of Prime Minister António Joaquim Granjo during the Lisbon Night of Blood ( Noite Sangrent a) on October 19, 1921, he succeeded him as Prime Minister (Presidente do Conselho de Ministros) . In his cabinet, which only held office until November 5, 1921, he also assumed the office of Minister of the Interior .

Publications and journalistic activities

In addition to early articles in republican-oriented newspapers, he was the founder and editor of the weekly newspaper "Gerechtigkeit" ( A Justiça ) , published in Lisbon from 1880 to 1881, and in 1883 a shareholder in the "Commercial newspaper of Vila Real " ( Comércio de Vila Real ). During his exile in Angola in 1893 he was the editor of the weekly newspaper "Die Provinz" ( A Província ) published in Luanda . In 1898 he became editor of the "Journal of the North" ( A Fôlha do Norte ) published in Porto . Through his experiences during the revolution of January 1891, he was next to João Pinheiro Chagas author of the “History of the Revolt of Porto” ( “História da Revolta do Porto” ).

After retiring from political life, he was co-editor of a total of thirty newspapers and magazines, such as the republican magazine Seara Nova between 1929 and 1936 and editor-in-chief of the “Newspaper of the North” ( Diário da Noite ) published in Lisbon in 1932 .

In addition, he was a member of the Geographical Society of Lisbon ( Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa ).

Web links

• Biography (portuguese)
• Biography (portuguese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ List of Governors and Governors General of Angola
2. ↑ António Martins Mendes: História dos Servicios Veterinários de Angola - Os primeiros anos (PDF; 215 kB)
3. ^ List of Governors of Portuguese Guinea
4. ^ The events of October 19, 1921 .
5. ^ List of Portuguese interior ministers

predecessor	Office	successor
António Joaquim Granjo	Prime Minister of Portugal October 19, 1921 - November 5, 1921	Carlos Maia Pinto