António José de Almeida, GCTE, GCA, GCC,

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private s ...

(; 27 July 1866 – 31 October 1929), was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

politician who served as the sixth

president of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

from 1919 to 1923.

Early career

Born in

Penacova Penacova ( or ) is a town and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,251, in an area of 216.73 km². Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 8 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): ...

to José António de Almeida and his wife Maria Rita das Neves, Almeida studied medicine at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

and became a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner ( Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. During his term as Minister for the Interior, he was the founder of both the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...

and the University of Porto in 1911. He was one of the most eloquent republican tribunes, and, after the

5 October 1910 revolution The 5 October 1910 revolution was the overthrow of the centuries-old Portuguese monarchy and its replacement by the First Portuguese Republic. It was the result of a ''coup d'état'' organized by the Portuguese Republican Party. By 1910, the Ki ...

, as interior minister"With the proclamation of the Republic and the installment of the first provisional government, which was led by Teófilo Braga with António José de Almeida as Interior Minister and Afonso Costa as Minister of Justice, all of whom were freemasons
A Shortened History of Freemasonry in Portugal
Petrestones Review he led the moderate wing of the

Portuguese Republican Party The Portuguese Republican Party (, ) was a Portuguese political party formed during the late years of the constitutional monarchy that proposed and conducted the substitution of the monarchy with the Portuguese First Republic.Afonso Costa Afonso Augusto da Costa, GCTE, GCL (; born in Seia, 6 March 1871; died in Paris, 11 May 1937) was a Portuguese lawyer, professor and republican politician. Political career Costa was the leader of the Portuguese Republican Party and he was ...

. The moderates elected

Manuel de Arriaga Manuel José de Arriaga Brum da Silveira e Peyrelongue (; 8 July 1840 – 5 March 1917) was a Portuguese lawyer, the first attorney-general and the first elected president of the First Portuguese Republic, following the deposition of King Man ...

for first elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, on 24 August 1911, defeating Afonso Costa's candidate,

Bernardino Machado Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães, GCTE, GCL (; 28 March 1851, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 29 April 1944, Porto, Portugal), was a Portuguese political figure, the third and eighth president of Portugal (1915–17, 1925–26). In 1917, ...

. António José de Almeida founded his own party, the Evolutionist Party, that was in the opposition. On 12 June 1916 he became the 6th Minister for Finance and also the 96th

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...

of Portugal. Later, both the Evolutionist Party and the Republican Union,

Manuel de Brito Camacho Manuel de Brito Camacho (12 February 1862, Aljustrel — 19 September 1934, Lisbon) a Portuguese military officer, writer, publicist and politician, who among other positions, was Minister of Public Works, Commerce and Industry (1910–1911) a ...

's party, joined to form the new Republican Liberal Party, in 1919, that went on to win the legislative elections.

Presidency

On 6 August 1919, António José de Almeida was elected the 6th President of the Republic, and was the only President of the First Republic, that completed the full four years mandate. He faced the greatest political instability of the regime and almost resigned. He was also remembered for his voyage to Brazil, in 1922, during the centennial of that country's independence from Portugal, where he was noted as a brilliant speaker.

Personal life

He married on 14 December 1910 to Maria Joana de Morais Perdigão Queiroga, daughter with her younger sisters Antónia and Catarina of Joaquim José Perdigão Queiroga (b.

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) and first wife Maria Cândida de Morais and half-sister of Perdigão Queiroga. On 27 December 1911 they had an only daughter Maria Teresa Queiroga de Almeida, married to medical doctor Júlio Gomes da Cunha de Abreu.

Honours

Sash and Grand-Cross of the Three Orders, as President of the Republic and Grand-Master of the Portuguese Honorific Orders (1919–1923) * PRT Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword - Grand Cross BAR

PRT Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a Sovereign state, country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southern Europe, Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes ...

(July 10, 1919) * PRT Order of Christ - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of Christ,

(October 16, 1919) * PRT Military Order of Aviz - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross of the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz ( pt, Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis, ), previously to 1910 ''Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789 ''Knights'' (of ...

(October 16, 1919) * PRT Order of Saint James of the Sword - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross of the

Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword ( pt, Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada) is a Portuguese order of chivalry. Its full name is the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientifi ...

(October 16, 1919)

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Antonio Jose De 1866 births 1929 deaths People from Penacova Portuguese Republican Party politicians Evolutionist Party politicians Republican Liberal Party (Portugal) politicians Presidents of Portugal Prime Ministers of Portugal Finance ministers of Portugal Government ministers of Portugal Portuguese agnostics Portuguese Freemasons University of Coimbra alumni 19th-century Portuguese people 20th-century Portuguese politicians