Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo, the Viscount of Ouro Preto (2 February 1836 – 21 February 1912) was a Brazilian politician, and the last

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 i ...

of the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

Biography

Personal life

Afonso Celso was born in

Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herit ...

, then capital of the province of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. He married on 6 January 1859 with Francisca de Paula Martins de Toledo (1839–1916), daughter of the Colonel of the National Guard and counselor Joaquim Floriano de Toledo, and his second wife, Ana Margarida da Graça Martins. From the marriage between the Viscount of Ouro Preto and Francisca de Paula was born the ''immortal'' Count

Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo Júnior Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo Júnior, titled Count of Afonso Celso by the Holy See, better known as Afonso Celso, (31 March 1860 – 11 July 1938) was a teacher, poet, historian and Brazilian politician. He is one of the founders of the B ...

, who came to found the Jornal do Brasil (he would not have founded but collaborated for more than 30 years in the newspaper). Francisca de Paula was the sister of Carlota Martins de Toledo, wife of Jorge João Dodsworth, the second Baron of Javari. Dodsworth was the brother-in-law of the baron of Tefe and, therefore, uncle of

Nair de Tefé Nair de Teffé von Hoonholtz, mostly known as Nair de Teffé (10 June 1886 – 10 June 1981), was a Brazilian aristocrat, painter, singer and pianist, having been notably the first female cartoonist in the world. Married to Marshal Hermes da Fon ...

, which was First Lady of Presidente

Hermes da Fonseca Hermes Rodrigues da Fonseca (; 12 May 1855 – 9 September 1923) was a Brazilian field marshal and politician who served as the eighth President of Brazil between 1910 and 1914. He was a nephew of marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, the first president ...

. His brother, Carlos Afonso de Assis Figueiredo, was

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and president of the province of Rio de Janeiro. The Viscount of Ouro Preto wrote a work of history about the first ten years of the Republic.

Career

Member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, Afonso Celso was elected senator by the province of Minas Gerais and took office on 26 April 1879. He also held the positions of Secretary of Police, Inspector of the Provincial Treasury and procurator of the Treasury. Having been provincial deputy in two terms and general deputy for Minas Gerais four times. Still in the Empire, the viscount of Ouro Preto, convicted monarchist, embraced the abolitionist cause. As senator, he created a tax of 20

réis The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...

on the price of tram tickets, a fact that generated great agitation in Rio de Janeiro, known as the "Revolta do Vintém", in January 1880. He published, among other works, the squadron and the parliamentary opposition and Advent of the military dictatorship. He was awarded the Viscount's nobiliarchic title with greatness on 13 June 1888 by

Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil , house = Braganza , father = Pedro II of Brazil , mother = Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies , birth_date = , birth_place = Palace of São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , death_date = , death_place = ...

, who was acting as regent. He was Minister of the Navy and of the Treasury and member of the Council of State. It presided over the last Council of Ministers of the Empire. Assis Figueiredo was arrested on 15 November 1889 at Campo de Santana Headquarters, on the day of the proclamation of the republic, with the whole ministry, and then exiled with the Brazilian Imperial Family.

Later life

He lived in exile until 1892, a year after the Emperor's death, when he was allowed to return and decided not to pursue a career in republican politics. At the beginning of the 20th century, after the proclamation of the republic, he was professor of Civil and Commercial Law at the Free School of Legal and Social Sciences of Rio de Janeiro. He was one of the most important politicians of the Second Reign of the

and great friend of Emperor Pedro II. He died in Rio de Janeiro in 1912 at 76 years of age. He was buried in the São João Baptista cemetery.

Imperial cabinet

He was president of the Council of Ministers and simultaneously

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

*Ministry of the Empire: Franklin Dória *Ministry of Foreign Affairs: José Francisco Diana *Ministry of Justice: Cândido Luís Maria de Oliveira *Ministry of War: Rufino Eneas Gustavo Galvão *Ministry of the Navy: José da Costa Azevedo *Ministry of Transport and Public Works: Lourenço Cavalcanti de Albuquerque

Titles and honors

Titles of nobility

*Viscount of Ouro Preto (Grandee) on 13 June 1888.

Honors

* Grand Cross of the Brazilian

Order of the Rose The Imperial Order of the Rose ( pt, Imperial Ordem da Rosa) was a Brazilian order of chivalry, instituted by Emperor Pedro I of Brazil on 17 October 1829 to commemorate his marriage to Amélie of Leuchtenberg. On 22 March 1890, the order was can ...

. * Knight of the Brazilian

Order of Saint Benedict 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 ...

. * Dignitary of the Brazilian

Order of the Southern Cross Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 18 ...

. * Dignitary of the Brazilian Order of Christ. {{DEFAULTSORT:Celso, Afonso 1836 births 1912 deaths Prime Ministers of Brazil Finance Ministers of Brazil People from Ouro Preto Brazilian monarchists Brazilian nobility Liberal Party (Brazil) politicians