Filinto Strubing Müller (11 July 1900 – 11 July 1973) was a military-associated Brazilian politician who served as President of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

for the state of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighborin ...

. He was also Chief of

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

police during much of the government of

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Braz ...

. He was killed in the crash of Varig Flight 820 on July 11, 1973, on his 73rd birthday.

Nazi sympathies

Müller was born in

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America. Also, it forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande. The city' ...

, Brazil in 1900. At the age of 19, he joined the Army. He later participated in the

Tenente revolts Tenentism ( pt, tenentismo) was a political philosophy of junior army officers ( pt, tenentes, , ''lieutenants'') who significantly contributed to the Brazilian Revolution of 1930. Background The first decades of the 20th century saw marked econ ...

. He was a close collaborator of Vargas since his rise to power in 1930. Before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was sympathetic to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, which he visited in 1937 at the invitation of

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

. Also, he was one of the architects of the Estado Novo, which was characterized by the usage of large-scale torture (it is reported that sometimes he personally participated in torture sessions) and

summary execution A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a Right to a fair trial, full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary offense, summary justice (such as a drumhea ...

s against political opponents (mostly communists). He was dismissed from his post when Vargas switched sides, moving Brazil to the Allies against

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

Senator

In 1945 he was one of the founders of the pro-Vargas

Social Democracy Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

. In 1947 he was elected Senator for the state of

. In 1950 he stood for the post of governor of the same state, but was defeated. He was reelected as senator in 1955 and 1962. In the Senate, he was a supporter of the Kubitschek government. After the military coup of 1964, he joined the pro-regime party

ARENA An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectato ...

, and soon became its leader. He was reelected Senator in 1970. In 1973 he became President of the Senate.

Personal life and death

Müller was married to

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

Consuelo de la Lastra, and they had two biological daughters: Maria Luiza Müller de Almeida (named after Consuelo's older sister, María Luísa de la Lastra), and Rita Julia Lastra Müller. Together, they adopted de la Lastra's niece, Argentinian-born

María Luísa Beatriz del. Müller died on Varig Flight 820 in France while in office in 1973, on his 73rd birthday. The plane caught on fire, causing it to crash. After his death he was honored as a national hero. Filinto has since been honored publicly by several officials and intellectuals, among them

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...

and

Ulysses Guimarães Ulysses Silveira Guimarães ( October 6, 1916 – October 12, 1992) was a Brazilian politician and lawyer who played an important role in opposing the military dictatorship in Brazil and in the fight to restore democracy in the country. He died i ...

. On the same flight were his wife, Consuelo, and his grandson, Pedro, who was only sixteen at the time.

References

External links

Filinto Müller Biography at CPDOC FGV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Filinto 1900 births 1973 deaths People from Cuiabá Social Democratic Party (Brazil, 1945–65) politicians National Renewal Alliance politicians Presidents of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Brazilian anti-communists Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1973