Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa , commonly known as Manuel Gomes da Costa () or just Gomes da Costa (14 January 1863 – 17 December 1929), was a

Portuguese army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With it ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, the tenth

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 ...

and the second of the

National Dictatorship The ''Ditadura Nacional'' (, National Dictatorship) was the name given to the regime that governed Portugal from 1926, after the re-election of General Óscar Carmona to the post of President, until 1933. The preceding period of military dic ...

. Gomes da Costa had a distinguished military career in the country's

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

, from 1893 to 1915, in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, and

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álvar ...

, having served under the command of Mouzinho de Albuquerque. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, in which he rose to greater prominence in the command of the 1st Division of the

Portuguese Expeditionary Corps The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP, Portuguese: ''Corpo Expedicionário Português'') was the main military force from Portugal that fought in the Western Front, during World War I. Portuguese neutrality ended in 1916 after the Portuguese ...

, he became actively engaged in politics, in staunch opposition to the dominant Democratic Party. In 1926, he was involved in the military and political movement that resulted in the

28 May 1926 coup d'état The 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of the authoritarian Estado Novo ( en, New State), the National Revolution ( pt, Revolução Nacional), was a military coup of a nationalist origin, that put ...

that inaugurated a new conservative, authoritarian regime. Following the military coup, Gomes da Costa deposed moderate

José Mendes Cabeçadas José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior, OTE, ComA (), commonly known as Mendes Cabeçadas (19 August 1883 in Loulé – 11 June 1965 in Lisbon), was a Portuguese Navy officer, Freemason and republican, having a major role in the preparation of the ...

, who had received executive and presidential power from the removed Prime Minister

António Maria da Silva António Maria da Silva, GCTE (; 26 May 1872 in Lisbon – 14 October 1950 in Lisbon) was a Portuguese politician. An engineer, he was a prominent member of the Portuguese Republican Party. He was Prime Minister (President of the Council of ...

and President Bernardino Machado, briefly holding the headship of government and of state in the summer of that year, until he was himself removed by another coup, to be replaced by

Óscar Carmona António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona (; 24 November 1869 – 18 April 1951) was a Portuguese Army officer and politician who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1926 to 1928 and as the 11th president of Portugal from 1926 until his death i ...

Early life

Gomes da Costa was born to Carlos Dias da Costa and Madalena de Oliveira; he grew up with two younger siblings, Lucrécia and Amália. He began his military career at the

Colégio Militar ''Colégio Militar'' ( Portuguese for "Military College") is a military secondary school in Lisbon, Portugal. It was founded by Marechal António Teixeira Rebello in 1803. History Its initial location was S. Julião da Barra Fort, in Oeiras. It ...

at age 10. Generais Tamagnini Hacking e Gomes da Costa

Military career

As a soldier, he stood out in colonial campaigns in the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

colonies. After Portugal had entered the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(''See:

Portugal in the Great War Portugal did not initially form part of the system of alliances involved in World War I and thus remained neutral at the start of the conflict in 1914. But even though Portugal and Germany remained officially at peace for over a year and a hal ...

'') on the Allied side in early 1917, he commanded the Second Division of the

. During the Battle of the Lys on 9 April 1918, the CEP lost 400 dead and around 6,500 prisoners, a third of its forces in the front line. Gomes da Costa's division was hit particularly hard and was all but wiped out. For his command in the war, he was made a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

and a Grand Officer of the Military Order of Avis. Two years later, on 5 October 1921, he received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Avis. Desfile de tropas 28 de Maio 1926

Revolution

A convinced monarchist, Gomes da Costa had consorted with people of various political convictions. That, and his reputation as a soldier, led to his choice by right-wing revolutionaries to lead the

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

that overthrew the

Portuguese First Republic The First Portuguese Republic ( pt, Primeira República Portuguesa; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the period of constitutional monarchy ...

, after General

Alves Roçadas Alves is a surname that appears to originate both from Portugal and Scotland. It is debatable whether the surname appeared first in one country or the other, since it is more prevalent in Portugal, but registered as far back as the 13th century in ...

, their original choice, had fallen fatally ill. After the success of the revolution he did not assume power at first, entrusting the posts of President of the Republic and President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) to

, the leader of the revolution in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

. Soon the coup leaders disliked the attitude of Mendes Cabeçadas, a choice of the previous president Bernardino Machado and still sympathetic towards the old republic. He was replaced by Gomes da Costa in both posts in a meeting in

Sacavém Sacavém (; ar, شقبان) is a former civil parish in the municipality of Loures, Lisbon District, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Sacavém e Prior Velho. It is a few kilometers north-east of the Portuguese capital, L ...

on 17 June 1926. The new government was the first to include the later prime minister and dictator of Portugal, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, as finance minister.

Overthrow and exile

Gomes da Costa's government lasted about as long as Cabeçadas', because it was overthrown by a new coup on 9 July the same year. This attempt was initiated by João José Sinel de Cordes and

, after Gomes da Costa attempted to have Carmona removed as minister for foreign affairs. Although more conservative than Cabeçadas, Gomes da Costa had no desire to institute a long-term military regime, which brought him into conflict with Carmona and others in the most conservative and authoritarian faction of the military leadership. Carmona succeeded Gomes da Costa as President of the Republic and of the Council of Ministers under the pretext that Gomes da Costa was "unfit for office." Gomes da Costa was

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d to the

Azores Islands ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, but also promoted to

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With it ...

.Gomes da Costa in Artigos de apoio Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2016. Accessed 28 December 2016.
/ref> In September 1927, he returned to mainland

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

, already very ill; he died a few months later.

Personal life

On 15 May 1885 in

Penamacor Penamacor ( or ) is a municipality in the district of Castelo Branco in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,682, in an area of . The mayor is António Luís Beites Soares. The municipal holiday is Easter Monday. Parishes Administratively ...

Gomes da Costa married Henriqueta Júlia de Mira Godinho (

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, Santa Maria, 1863–1936), by whom he had three children. Gomes da Costa was the father-in-law of Pedro Francisco Massano de Amorim, Governor of Gaza, Angola, Mozambique and India.

Honours

PRT_Military_Order_of_Aviz_-_Grand_Officer_BAR

Grand Officer 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 ...

(15 February 1919) * PRT_Military_Order_of_the_Tower_and_of_the_Sword_-_Grand_Officer_BAR

Grand Officer of the Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit, Portugal (14 September 1920) * PRT_Military_Order_of_Aviz_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

PRT_Military_Order_of_Aviz_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

, Portugal (5 October 1921)