Júlio Carlos Alves Dias Botelho Moniz ( Lisbon, 12 October 1900 – Lisbon, 30 September 1970) 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 ...

soldier and politician. Botelho Moniz owed his political and military career (Minister of the Interior and of Defence, Chief General of the Armed Forces, representative of the Portuguese Army, as an observer, on the East Front of the Second World War) to Fernando Santos Costa's close protection.

Coup attempt

After his nomination as Minister of Defence (following Santos Costa in that position), Botelho Moniz became receptive towards the discontent felt by certain members of the military hierarchy against the Estado Novo regime. In the spring of 1961, he was one of the main participants in an aborted

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

, also supported by the former President

Craveiro Lopes Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes (; 12 April 1894 – 2 September 1964) was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the 12th president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958. Early life and career Born in Lisbon, he was a son o ...

and some of his colleagues. The attempt to overthrow

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the r ...

failed because the "coup" was badly prepared, enabling the dictator to react promptly. Some believe that Botelho Moniz developed contacts with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, as the Americans, under President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's new policy, were allegedly willing to discreetly support changes in the political orientation of the Portuguese administration.

Coup attempt

See also