Manuel Teixeira Gomes,
GCSE (; 27 May 1860 – 18 October 1941) 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 and writer. He served as the seventh
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 ...
between 5 October 1923 and 11 December 1925.
Personal life
Manuel Teixeira Gomes was born in Vila Nova de
Portimão
Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...
, son of José Líbano Gomes (from Mortágua), and wife Maria da Glória Teixeira, born in Lagoa, Ferragudo. A wealthy landowner, his father was also an important dried fruit trader, a much travelled man, who had been educated in France and witnessed the 1848 revolution, had republican leanings and had been Belgian Consul in the
Algarve
The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese).
The region has it ...
.
Teixeira Gomes attended the Colégio de São Luís Gonzaga, Portimão, and the
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
seminary. At the age of 16 he enrolled at the University of Coimbra to study medicine, but he abandoned studies one year later and moved to
Lisbon, where he established closed ties with local intellectual circles (namely
Fialho de Almeida and
João de Deus). After completing military service, he went to
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
(1881), where he became friendly with
Sampaio Bruno,
Basílio Teles,
António Soares dos Reis
António Manuel Soares dos Reis (Vila Nova de Gaia, 14 October 1847 - Vila Nova de Gaia, 16 February 1889) was a Portuguese sculptor.
Studies
He first studied at the Portuense Academy of Fine Arts, where he graduated in sculpture in 1867. He st ...
and others. Together with
Joaquim Coimbra and
Queirós Veloso he founded ''Gil Vicente'', a theatrical newspaper. He also wrote for ''
Primeiro de Janeiro'' and ''Folha Nova''.
In 1891 his father and other partners had set up a company called "Sindicato de Exportadores de Figos do Algarve" (Algarve Fig Exporters Union), which lasted three years. Manuel was told to find markets in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. He travelled extensively, toured Europe and lingered in Italy. He extended his cultural horizon by wandering through North Africa and Asia Minor.
The company was closed but father and son continued the business on their own. Soon their success meant that they had to enlarge their market to new areas that were familiar to them, North Africa and the Middle East, but meant that Manuel had to travel nine months of the year, returning to Portugal only during the fig picking season.
After 1895 he established new contacts with the literary circles of Lisbon. Through Fialho de Almeida he met
Marcelino Mesquita,
Gomes Leal
''Gomes'' is a common Portuguese and Old Galician surname. It derived from the given name ''Gomes'', which derived from the Visigothic word ''guma'', meaning "man".
Its Spanish equivalent is Gómez.
Notable people A–E
* Al Gomes (born 1960), ...
and others.
Alfredo Mesquita,
Luís Osório and
António Nobre
António Pereira Nobre (16 August 1867 – 18 March 1900) was a Portugal, Portuguese poet. His masterpiece, ''Só (poem collection), Só'' (Paris, 1892), was the only book he published.
Life
Northern Portugal
Nobre was a member of a wealth ...
encouraged him to publish his first book, ''O Inventário de Junho'', which came out in 1899.
Due to his father's deteriorating health and advanced age, he spent longer periods in Portimão. During this time, he published ''Cartas sem Moral Nenhuma'' and ''Agosto Azul'', in 1904, ''Sabrina Freire'' in 1905, ''Desenhos e Anedotas de João de Deus'' in 1907 and ''Gente Singular'' in 1909.
After he resigned his presidency on 11 December 1925, on the pretext of poor health, he went into voluntary exile on 17 December 1925, travelling to
Oran,
Algeria
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, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
, and never returned to Portugal. In 1931 he moved to
Bougie, where he lived the rest of his life, always opposing the authoritarian
Estado Novo regime.
He had two natural daughters by Belmira das Neves (5 August 1886 – 26 January 1967), daughter of fisherman João de Deus and wife Quitéria das Dores, named Ana Rosa, who was born in Portimão and married José Calapez, also born in Portimão, and Maria Manuela, who was born on 7 September 1910 and married José Pearce de Azevedo (born and died Portimão). He intended to marry her but his parents did not allow him to do so.
Politics
A devout republican, he collaborated with the daily newspaper ''A Lucta'', edited by
Brito Camacho.
Following the
implantation of the republic he was invited to be Portuguese Minister in London. In April 1911 he travelled to Britain and presented his credentials to
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
on October 11, serving as
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...
to the United Kingdom (1911–1918, 1919–1923).
Gomes managed to ingratiate himself thoroughly with the British
Foreign Office, acting as the principal negotiator for all matters relating to Portugal. He gave particular attention to problems concerning the Anglo-German negotiations on the division of the Portuguese colonies. At the formal request of Great Britain, he cooperated with the Portuguese governments regarding the Portuguese participation on the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
.
Teixeira Gomes returned to Portugal in January 1918 and was put under house arrest during the dictatorship of
Sidónio Pais
Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais (; 1 May 1872 – 14 December 1918) was a Portuguese politician, military officer, and diplomat, who served as the fourth president of the First Portuguese Republic in 1918. One of the most di ...
. He returned to diplomacy after the fall of Sidonist regime and became minister to Spain (1919) and then again to the United Kingdom (1919–1923). He was a member of the Portuguese Delegation at the
Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) and an unsuccessful candidate of the Democratic Party (Partido Democrático) at the presidential elections of 6 August 1919 won by
António José de Almeida
António José de Almeida, GCTE, GCA, GCC, GCSE (; 27 July 1866 – 31 October 1929), was a Portuguese politician who served as the sixth president of Portugal from 1919 to 1923.
Early career
Born in Penacova to José António de Almeida ...
. He was a delegate to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
, serving as Vice-President of the General Assembly (6 September 1922 – 30 September 1922) and was elected in-absentia President of the Republic (6 August 1923), arriving at the port of Lisbon on 3 October 1923.
During his term Teixeira Gomes made unsuccessful attempts to combat terrorism and suppressed at least four major revolts (1924–1925) organized by radicals and the military. He was constantly harassed by the Nationalist Party and, unable to manage political crises, he resigned on 11 December 1925 on the pretext of poor health. He went into voluntary exile on 17 December 1925 and died in
Bougie in 1941.
Literary works
Fiction:
*''Gente Singular'' (1909)
*''Novelas Eróticas'' (1934)
*''Regressos'' (1935)
*''Miscelânea'' (1937)
*''Maria Adelaide'' (1938)
*''Carnaval Literário'' (1939)
Theatre:
*''Sabina Freire'' (1905)
Correspondence:
*''Correspondência I e II'' (1960)
Chronicle / memoirs:
*''Inventário de Junho'' (1899)
*''Cartas sem Moral Nenhuma, Del Devora al Smegma'' (1903)
*''Agosto Azul'' (1904)
*''Cartas a Columbano, De Los plamf e zoog'' (1932)
*''Londres Maravilhosa, Dos Fartado El Stink'' (1942)
External links
*http://www.archontology.org/nations/portugal/port010/teixeira.php
*http://www.leme.pt/biografias/portugal/presidentes/gomes.html (Portuguese)
*http://www.presidencia.pt/?id_categoria=13&id_item=31
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes, Manuel Teixeira
1860 births
1941 deaths
People from Portimão
Democratic Party (Portugal) politicians
Presidents of Portugal
Portuguese male writers
University of Porto alumni
Portuguese diplomats
Ambassadors of Portugal to the United Kingdom
19th-century Portuguese writers
19th-century male writers
20th-century Portuguese politicians
University of Coimbra alumni