Kaúlza de Oliveira de Arriaga, OA, GCC, OC, OIH (18 January 1915 – 2 February 2004) was a Portuguese general, writer, professor and politician. He was Secretary of State (junior minister) of the Air Force between 1953 and 1955 and commander of the Terrestrial Forces in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

from 1969 until 1974 during the

Mozambican War of Independence The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and Portuguese Armed Forces, Portugal. The war officially started on 25 September 1964, and ended with a ceas ...

Ancestry

He was a son of Manuel dos Santos Lima de Arriaga Nunes (1885-1940), a sculptor and son of a medical doctor from

Pico Island Pico Island (''Ilha do Pico,'' ) is an island in the Central Group, Azores, Central Group of the Portugal, Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Mount Pico, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the A ...

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

, and his

Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese Brazilians () are Brazilian citizens whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese people, Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunities. Although present sin ...

wife, Felicidade Eugénia Martins de Oliveira (1894-1987), daughter and granddaughter of

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...

s. The couple married in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

on 20 June 1914.

Career

Arriaga completed a degree in mathematics and engineering at the University of Porto and then volunteered for the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army () is the land component of the Portuguese Armed Forces, 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 its ...

on 1 November 1935. Taking a military and civil engineering course in the Military Academy which he graduated from in 1939, he was later assigned to the general staff of the Portuguese Institute of Military Studies. Here he petitioned for reforms to the

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

system, as well as training and the integration of

paratroopers A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light inf ...

into the

Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...

. Arriaga commanded, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the Portuguese forces in

from 1969 until 1974, taking over from General António Augusto dos Santos and organizing the Operation Nó Górdio ("Gordian Knot Operation") in 1970. This operation was the largest and most expensive military operation performed by the

Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces () are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air Force. The Presi ...

during the entire

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War (), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the Portuguese Empire, former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan War of Independence, Angolan, Guinea-Bissau War of Independence ...

(1961-1974). Arriaga was a major political figure in the Estado Novo regime before the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

of 25 April 1974 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, holding a number of public positions such as Head of the Ministry of Defense Cabinet, Secretary of State for Aeronautics, Professor of the Institute of High Military Studies, President of the Nuclear Energy Joint Commission and Executive President of the oil company Angol SA. In 1977 he founded MIRN, a right-wing political party, and was its chairman until the party's extinction after the 1980 Portuguese legislative election. He died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in 2004, in Lisbon.

Decorations

Arriaga received a number of awards and citations during his career, including: * PRT Military Order of Aviz - Officer BAR

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," fro ...

of the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Aviz (), known previously to 1910 as the Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz (), and before 1789 as the Knights of Saint Benedict of Aviz () or ''Friars of Santa Maria of Évora'', is one of the four former ancien ...

* Grand Officer of the Order of Military Merit of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of the Order of Christ * PRT Order of Christ - Grand Officer BAR

Grand Officer of the Order of Christ * Legion Honneur GO ribbon

Grand Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Officer BAR

Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry (Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) *

Medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

of Aeronautical Merit of the

Equestrian order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem BAR

of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

Family

Arriaga married in Reguengos de Monsaraz, at the Chapel of o Monte de São Mamede, on 19 May 1955 Maria do Carmo Fernandes Formigal (b. 1932),

Dame Commander ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronetesses in their own right also use the title ''Da ...

of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, daughter of Mário Formigal (1899-1954), a landowner and son of another, and his wife (m. 1922) Maria Adelaide Rosado Fernandes (1903-1981), of a family of farmers and landowners in

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

, Alto Alentejo, by whom he had five children, including the second wife of former prime minister Pedro Santana Lopes.

Published works

* '' Atomic Energy '' - 1949 * '' the Portuguese National Defense in Last the 40 years and the Future '' - 1966 * '' Some Nuclear Questions in Portugal '' - 1969 * '' Lições de estratégia de curso de altos comandos—1966/67 '' (Lessons Of Strategy in the Course of High Command, 1966/67), Vol. 12 (1971) * '' The Portuguese Answer '' - 1973 * '' Courage, Tenacity and Faith '' - 1973 * '' the National Conjuncture and My Position before the Moment Portuguese Politician '' - 1976 * '' In the way of the Solutions of the Future '' - 1977 * '' Africa - the Betrayed Victory '' (co-author) - 1977 * '' War and Politics - On behalf of the Decisive Truth, Years '' (two editions) - 1987 * '' Global Strategy '' - 1988 * '' Syntheses '' (two editions) - 1992 * '' Maastricht - 1992

References

External links

Kaúlza de Arriaga - website with published works and biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arriaga, Kaulza De 1915 births 2004 deaths Military personnel from Porto Portuguese generals Portuguese people of Brazilian descent Deaths from dementia in Portugal Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Mozambican War of Independence University of Porto alumni Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil) Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

Ancestry

Career

Decorations

Family

Published works

See also

References

External links