List of Presidents of Brazil

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This is a list of Presidents of Brazil.

Contents

[edit] Old republic

Main article: History of Brazil (1889-1930)

In 1889 the Repulic was proclamated in a coup d'etát led by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, who deposed the Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II and formed a provisional government. Two years later, in 1891, Constitution was written, based on the federative republic of the United States of America and the country itself was named Republic of the United States of Brazil. Deodoro was elected constitutional president by the Constituint Congress in the same year, immediately after the promulgation of the Constitution, but resigned ten months later after a coup d'étát in which he dissolved Congress was reversed. Then, Floriano Peixoto, Deodoro's vice-president and an opposer of the coup, was inaugurated. Peixoto was succeeded by the first elected president in Brazil, Prudente de Morais.

Although it was theoretically a constitutional democracy, the Old Republic was characterized by the power of regional oligarchies and the strict alternance of power between the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The vote in the countryside was often controlled by the local land owner, and less than 6% of the population had the right of vote, due to the fact that illiterate people could not vote, as .

In 1930, when Brazil was suffering the effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a revolution broke in the country and the old republic ended. The president Washington Luiz, who was supported by São Paulo oligarchies, broke the rule of alternance between São Paulo and Minas and supported a candidate who was also from São Paulo, Júlio Prestes. Prestes won the election, but Washington Luiz was deposed three weeks before the end of his term and Prestes would never be inaugurated.


# President Took office Left office Vice President(s) Notes
1 Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca November 15, 1889 November 23, 1891 Floriano Peixoto Led the Proclamation of the Republic. Acted as Head of the Provisional Government from November 1889 until February 1891. In that capacity, summoned the elections for the Constituint Congress that drafted the new Republic's first Constitution, adopted on February 24, 1891. After promulgating that Constitution, and under its transitional provisions, the Constituint Congress became the first ordinary Legislature, for a four year term. Also under the Counstitution's transitional provisions, the Legislature was to choose the first president and vice-president, and that was to be its first item of business. Marshall Deodoro da Fonseca, the head of the provisional Government, was elected president, and his runner up in that contest, Marshall Floriano Peixoto, was elected vice-president in the following vote. Both inaugurated immediately after being elected, on February 25, 1891. Deodoro was not the natural choice of several civilian politicians, but there was huge pressure for his election from the Army elements that had led the proclamation of the Republic. By November 1891 the new president was facing intense opposition in Congress, and so Deodoro enforced the dissolution of Congress, a power he did not possess under the Constitution. Deodoro's coup d'etát lasted for a few weeks, but then opposition to his arbirary rule grew within the Army itself, and he was forced to resign. His decree dissolving Congress, and the decrees signed by him after such dissolution in violation of the constitutional lawmaking procedure were voided by his successor.
2 Marshal Floriano Peixoto November 23, 1891 November 15, 1894 Inaugurated after Deodoro's resignation. The Constitution required that new elections should be held if the presidency became vacant in the first two years of the presidential term. However, Floriano Peixoto imposed his interpretation that he should serve the entire rest of the term, claiming that the said constitutional norm only applied to Presidents elected under the permanent provisions of the Constitution (election by popular ballot). Marshalls Floriano and Deodoro were chosen vice-president and president by Congress, under the constitution's transitional provisions, and so Floriano insisted that the rule requiring new elections was not applicable.
3 Prudente de Morais November 15, 1894 November 15, 1898 Manuel Vitorino First President elected by direct popular ballot, under the permanent provisions of the Constitution.
4 Campos Sales November 15, 1898 November 15, 1902 Rosa e Silva
5 Rodrigues Alves November 15, 1902 November 15, 1906 Silviano Brandão
Afonso Pena
6 Afonso Pena November 15, 1906 June 14, 1909 Nilo Peçanha Died in office
7 Nilo Peçanha June 14, 1909 November 15, 1910 Inaugurated after Pena's death
8 Marshal Hermes da Fonseca November 15, 1910 November 15, 1914 Venceslau Braz
9 Venceslau Brás November 15, 1914 November 15, 1918 Urbano Santos
10 Rodrigues Alves Delfim Moreira Had already served as President from 1902 to 1906. In 1918, became the first person to be elected more than once to the presidency. Died before innauguration for the 1918-1922 term.
11 Delfim Moreira November 15, 1918 July 28, 1919 Inaugurated after the death of President-elect Rodrigues Alves. In accordance with the Constitution, that required new elections should the presidency become vacant in the first two years of the presidential term, Delfim Moreira served as president only until elections could take place and the president-elect inaugurated.
12 Epitácio Pessoa July 28, 1919 November 15, 1922 Delfim Moreira
Bueno de Paiva		 Epitácio Pessoa was elected to complete the 1918-1922 presidential term.
13 Artur Bernardes November 15, 1922 November 15, 1926 Estacio Coimbra
14 Washington Luís November 15, 1926 October 24, 1930 Melo Viana Overthrown three weeks before the end of his term, together with his vice-president. Upon his deposition, was forced to sign an instrument of resignation. The 1930 Revolution instituted a provisional Government, and the political system of the Old Republic ceased to exist.
15 Júlio Prestes Vital Soares President Elect, not inaugurated because of 1930 Revolution. On October 3, 1930 a revolutionary movement broke. The victory of the revolutionary faction prevented the innauguration of Julio Prestes and terminated the political system of the Old Republic.

[edit] Vargas Era

Main article: History of Brazil (1930-1945)
# President Took office Left office Vice President(s) Notes
16 General Augusto Fragoso October 24, 1930 November 3, 1930 Provisorial military junta after 1930 Revolution. The junta handed power to the the civilian Getúlio Vargas, the leader of the Revolution, upon his arrival in the capital from his home State of Rio Grande do Sul.
General Menna Barreto
Admiral Isaías de Noronha
17 Getúlio Vargas November 3, 1930 October 29, 1945 Post abolished in 1934 Head of the provisorial government from 1930 to 1934, President elected by the Parliament from 1934 to 1937, under the transitional provisions of the 1934 Constitution; Estado Novo dictator from the coup d'etát of November, 10th 1937 to 1945, with the title of President.
18 José Linhares October 29, 1945 January 31, 1946 Chief Justice of Brazil. Installed as president after a military insurrection against dictator Getúlio Vargas. During his provisional administration, measures were taken to re-establish a democratic system of government.

[edit] The republic of 1946

Main article: History of Brazil (1945-1964)

In 1945, Vargas was deposed by a military coup led by two ex-supporters. Nevertheless, he would be elected president once again and his influence in Brazilian politics would remain until the end of the second republic. In this period, three parties dominated the national politics. Two were pro-Vargas – in the left, PTB and in the center-right, PSD – and another anti-Vargas, the rightist UDN.

This period was very unstable. In 1954, Vargas committed suicide during a crisis that threatened his government and he was followed by a series of short-term presidents. In 1961, UDN elected the party's first president, Jânio Quadros, who resigned seven months later. In that time, the president and the vice-president were voted separately. The vice-president was a political enemy of Jânio Quadros, the leftist João Goulart. A brief crisis had taken place, and the solution was a parliamentarism system, in which Goulart was inaugurated with reduced powers. A plebiscite in 1963 restored presidencialism and a military coup deposed Goulart in 1964, starting the military dictatorship.

# President Took office Left office Vice President(s) Notes
19 Marshal Gaspar Dutra January 31, 1946 January 31, 1951 Nereu Ramos
20 Getúlio Vargas January 31, 1951 August 24, 1954 Café Filho Democratically elected. By 1954, his opponents claimed that he was plotting to re-establish a dictatorship, and thus mounted a siege against the presidential palace, in order to demand his resignation or depose him. His supporters claim that the right-wing opposition was staging a coup d'etát against a constitutional president that had no intention of becoming a dictator. Having lost support of members of his own Cabinet who were unwilling to defend his presidency and start a civil-war, and faced with the prospect of being forced out of office in a matter of hours, Vargas retired to his bedroom and committed suicide with a firearm. His suicide aborted the military insurrection, and his vice-president was sworn in to succeed him. Some claim that Vargas suicide delayed for ten years the establishment of a military regime in Brazil.
21 Café Filho August 24, 1954 November 9, 1955 Inaugurated after Vargas' suicide. A year later, declared himself "temporarily unable to discharge the powers of the presidency", citing health problems. Attempted to return to office after Carlos Luz's deposition, but was prevented from doing so by the leaders of the contra-coup that deposed Luz.
22 Carlos Luz November 9, 1955 November 11, 1955 President of the Chamber of Deputies, inaugurated after Café Filho's leave of absence. It is believed that President Café Filho was unwilling to personally lead a coup agaist the innauguration of the President-elect Kubitschek, and decided to hand power to Luz so that he could lead such a coup. Two days after taking office, Luz was deposed by a contra-coup, that also prevented Café Filho´ return to power.
23 Nereu Ramos November 11, 1955 January 31, 1956 President of the Senate, inaugurated after the deposition of Carlos Luz. Secured Kubitschek's innauguration.
24 Juscelino Kubitschek January 31, 1956 January 31, 1961 João Goulart In the first year of his term, President Kubitschek defeated a small military insurrection aimed at toppling him from the presidency.
25 Jânio Quadros January 31, 1961 August 25, 1961 João Goulart Resigned after seven months in office.
26 Ranieri Mazzilli August 25, 1961 September 7, 1961 President of the Chamber of Deputies, provisional president before Goulart's inauguration. Vice-president Goulart was visiting China when the resignation of President Jânio Quadros took place. The Constitution required that the presidential oath be taken before a joint session of Congress. That's the reason why Mazzilli acted as President until Goulart could return to the country and appear before Congress to take office. After Jânio's surprising and mysterious resignation, powerful political factions were willing to prevent Goulart's innauguration, and plotted against him before his return from China. The Governor of Rio Grande do Sul State and a portion of the Armed Forces plegded to defend the Constitutional rights of the Vice-president, and the country was in the brink of a civil-war. Even after Goulart's arrival from China, the joint session of Congress required for his innauguration was prevented for several days, until a compromise was reached and a constitutional amendment was enacted, restricting the powers of the presidency.
27 João Goulart September 7, 1961 April 1, 1964 After Jânio's resignation, and before Goulart could take office, a constitutional amendment was passed instituting a parliamentary system of Government and thus restricting the powers of the presidency. A plebiscite in 1963 restored presidencialism. Deposed by a military coup.

[edit] The military dictatorship

Main article: History of Brazil (1964-1985)
# President Took office Left office Vice President(s) Notes
28 Ranieri Mazzilli April 2, 1964 April 15, 1964 President of the Chamber of Deputies. Provisional president after the military coup. Mazzili was first in line after Goulart, and was declared President of the Republic by Auro de Moura Andrade, President of the Senate and of Congress, in a joint session of Congress quickly convened by Moura Andrade, in which he, siding with the military coup, announced the vacancy of the presidency due to Goulart's deposition and proceeded to declare that Mazzili, who himself was not present, was now President of the Republic, and that the session was adjourned. Thus, while there was an announcement of Mazzili's succession before Congress, there was no innauguration proper. Instead, after the above announcement, Mazzili proceeded to take possession of the Presidential Palace, supported by the military, and there, in an improvised ceremony he took the oath of office, not before Congress, but before Moura Andrade. Alongside Mazilli's intermn administration, and not subject to its authority, a body known as "the Supreme Command of the Revolution" was formed consisting of representatives of the leaders of the military coup. The acts of the Supreme Command were signed by General (later Marshall) Costa e Silva, Brigadier Francisco de Assis Correa de Mello and Vice-Admiral (Later Admiral of the Fleet) Augusto Hamman Rademaker Grünewald, who were, respectively, the self proclaimed commanders-in-chief of the Army, of the of the Air Force and of the Navy. While Mazzili's Government handled the ordinary affairs of the Executive Branch, the Supreme Command, claiming unlimmited power on behalf of the so called "Revolution" issued extraordinary edicts, such as acts suppressing political rights of several people, declaring legislative, administrative and judicial offices vacant, and an Institutional Act issued on April 9, 1964 that made several changes to the Constitution and laid the groundwork for the election of the next president and vice-president held just days later. With the innauguration of the first military president of the regime, the Supreme Command of the Revolution ceased to exist as a collective entity. Free and direct elections for president were promised for 1966, but were not held due to further acts of the regime.
29 Marshal Castelo Branco April 15, 1964 March 15, 1967 José Maria Alckmin First military dictator. As with all the presidents of the Military Dictatorship, he was formally elected by an Electoral College, the function of which was to merely rubber-stamp the regime's choices, while maintaining the appearance of a representative system. On October 1965, President Castello Branco claimed that the extraordinary powers of the Supreme Command of the Revolution had devolved upon the presidential office, and alleged that it was necessary to preserve the so called Revolutionary process by means of further changes to the country's institutional framework. He then issued a series of three Institutional Acts siglehandedly effecting changes to the country's constitutional order. The direct elections scheduled for 1966 were suspended. When Castello Branco's term was nearing its end, he presented a coerced Congress with a draft Constitution. Under Institutional Act no. 4, Congress was invested with Constituint powers, but had just a few months to discuss and vote on the proposal, and the president's draft was adopted with only a few minor changes as the new Constitution.
30 Marshal Costa e Silva March 15, 1967 August 31, 1969 Pedro Aleixo Military dictator. On December 13, 1968 he invoked the powers of the "Supreme Command of the Revolution" for the first time since the adoption of the Constitution of 1967, drafted by the regime. Claiming that those powers were still in existence and that they were vested in the presidency, he issued the Institutional Act no. 5, that, in a response to growing opposition to the regime, granted more extraordinary powers to the executive, further restricted civil liberties and authorized the president to suspend Congress and to exercise during such suspensions all powers of the Legislature. On the same date, such suspension was put in effect. The regime entered in a new hardline phase. Arbitrary arrests without Court order increased, censorship of the press was tightened, and the Executive, using its new powers, banned several people from political life for ten years, including several Opposition Congressmen, thus disfiguring the composition of the Legislative Branch. In 1969 the president suffered a major stroke, that left him incapacitated. After such stroke, a Military Junta seized power temporarily, thus avoiding the innauguration of the civilian Vice-President Pedro Aleixo as Acting President. For the first six weeks of the president's illness the Junta acted in the name and on behalf of Costa e Silva, and then, on October 16, 1969, as it became clear that the president would not recover, the Junta terminated the terms of office of both the President and the Vice-president and summoned elections to fill those vacancies. The Military Junta then remained in place until a new president and vice-president were chosen by the regime, rubber-stamped by the Ellectoral College and inaugurated.
Admiral Augusto Rademaker August 31, 1969 October 30, 1969 Military Junta, inaugurated after Costa e Silva's illness (see the above note on Costa e Silva's term). The Military Junta was formed by the Minister of the Navy, the Minister of the Army, and the Minister of the Air Force. There was no chairman of the junta, and all official acts of the Junta were jointly signed by its three members. While General Lyra Tavares, as representative of the Army, the most powerful branch of the Armed Forces in the operation of the regime, is believed to have been the main decisionmaker within the Junta, no formal precedence was assigned to its members, so as to preserve the principle of equality of the branches of the Military. In official documents of the Junta, its members were always mentioned in the order of antiquity of each branch of the Armed Forces. Thus, the representative of the Navy was always mentioned first, followed by that of the Army, and then by that of the Air Force, which led some to believe that Admiral Rademaker was first among equals in the workings of the Junta.
General Aurélio Lyra
Brigadier Márcio de Souza e Mello
31 General Emilio Medici October 30, 1969 March 15, 1974 Augusto Rademaker Military dictator
32 General Ernesto Geisel March 15, 1974 March 15, 1979 Adalberto Pereira dos Santos Military dictator. He was the last president to suspend the sessions of Congress. During his term, the process gradual political opening was started. A Constitutional Amendment was passed terminatig the effects of the Institutional Act no. 5 and of all Institutional Acts, and decreeing that others would not be enacted. The figure of the Supreme Command of the Revolution, vested in the presidency, ceased to exist.
33 General João Figueiredo March 15, 1979 March 15, 1985 Aureliano Chaves Last military dictator. Continued the process of opening initiated by his predecessor. During his term, the first direct elections for State Governor took place. President Figueiredo also signed the Law of Amnisty, that allowed for the return of many people who were banished from the country, made void several sanctions imposed by the regime and pardoned all offenses committed either by members of the regime or by its opposers, including armed groups. The first massive demonstrations against the regime took place during his government, demanding direct popular elections for president. However, a Constitutional Amendment to that effect was opposed by the right-wing party that supported the regime, and, although the bill managed to gather the support of a majority of the members of Congress, it failed to conquer the votes of the required two-thrids of its members. Thus, the next president was to be elected by the Electoral College. Under Figueiredo, that body was for the first time allowed to vote freely, without the threat of political persecution, and, as a result, the regime's choice for first civilian president after the 1964 coup, Paulo Maluf, was defeated by the Opposition candidate, Tancredo Neves.

[edit] The new republic

Main article: History of Brazil (1985-present)
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Since 1980, in the end of the Cold War, the military government started a process of gradual political opening, called abertura, the final goal of which was the democracy. When the term of the last military president ended, however, no direct elections for president was taken.

Tancredo Neves, who had been prime-minister during the presidency of João Goulart, was chosen to be the candidate of PMDB, the major opposition party, but he was also supported by a large political spectrum, even including a significant part of the ARENA, the party that supported the military presidents. Tancredo was elected by the Ellectoral College, but died before he could be inaugutarated. The first civilian president since 1964 was Tancredo's running mate, José Sarney, himself an ex-member of ARENA. In 1988, a new democratic Constitution was passed, and democracy was consolidated.

In 1989, the first elections for president under the new Constitution were held and the young Fernando Collor was elected for a five-years term - the first president to be elected by direct popular ballot since the military coup. He was inaugurated in 1990 and in 1992 he become the first president in Brazil impeached due to corruption.

In 1995, Fernando Henrique Cardoso was inaugurated for a four-year term, but in 1997 an Amendment was passed and allowed him to be the first president in Brazil to be reelected.

In 2003, the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated.

# President Took office Left office Vice President(s) Notes
34 Tancredo Neves José Sarney First civilian president since the military coup. Elected by the Electoral College in the first free elections held by that body, that previously used to rubber-stamp the regime's choice for president. Became gravely ill on the eve of his inauguration; died from that illness weeks later, not having taken office. A Law passed by Congress after his death declared that he should be counted among the Presidents of Brazil for all intents and purposes.
35 José Sarney March 15, 1985 March 15, 1990 Tancredo's Vice-president. Also a civilian. Acted as President from the first day of the presidential term, during Trancredo's illnes; inaugurated as President after his death on April 21st 1985. During his administration, a Constitutional Amendment was passed summoning a National Constituint Assembly to adopt a new democratic constitution for the country, so as to replace completely the regime's institutional framework. The Constituint Assembly was galved into session in February 1987 and the country's new Constitution was promulgated and entered into force on October 5, 1988. Under its transitional provisions, Sarney's term continued until March 15, 1990. Thus, Sarney became the first president to serve under the Constitution. In accordance with its rules, the first popular elections for president since the military coup were held in 1989, a final milestone in the restoration of the democratic freedoms in Brazil.
36 Fernando Collor March 15, 1990 October 2, 1992 Itamar Franco First president elected by popular vote since the military coup, and the first one to take office under the new Constitution. Due to the adaptation between the transitional provisions of the Constitution, that provided that Sarney's term would expire on March 15 1990 whereupon the president elected in 1989 would take office, and the permanent provisions of the Constitution, according to which the five year presidential term was to start on January 1st, President Collor and Vice-President Itamar Franco were elected to a term beginning on March 15, 1990 and ending on January 1, 1995. Collor's innauguration marked the completion of the process of transition towards full democracy. First president impeached by Congress due to corruption. In accordance with the Constitution, was suspended from office for 180 days upon approval of the charges of impeachment by the Chamber of Deputies on October 2, 1992. On December 29, 1992, the final day of the proceedings of his trial of impeachment, when the Plenary of the Federal Senate was in session as a Court of impeachment, Collor's attorney made public an instrument by which the suspended president resigned the presidency. The trial of impeachment then immediately adjourned, and at once the Congress proceeded to meet in joint session twice, so as to formally take notice of the instrument of resignation, whereupon it took effect, and then to innaugurate Vice-president Itamar Franco as President. Franco was already acting as President since Collor's suspension. On the same date, the Senate resumed as a Court of Impeachment, and decided that the resignation of the president could not block a trial of impeachment that had already started. On the night of the same date, Collor was found guilty of the charges of impeachment, and was thus prevented from holding any public office for eight years. The Senate's decision to resume Collor's trial of impeachment after his resignation was later challenged by him before the Judiciary, but the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Senate.
37 Itamar Franco October 2, 1992 January 1, 1995 Became Acting President after Collor's suspension from office as a result of the presentation of impeachment charges. Inaugurated as President on December 29, 1992 upon the resignation of the suspended president, to serve the remainder of the term. In 1994, months before the general elections scheduled for that year, a Constitutional Amendment was passed reducing the terms of office of future presidents from five years, as prescribed in the original version of the Constitution, to four years.
38 Fernando Henrique Cardoso January 1, 1995 January 1, 2003 Marco Maciel First president to be reelected to a consecutive term under the Constitutional Amendment number 16, passed during his first term in office.
39 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva January 1, 2003 Present José Alencar Current president. Reelected to serve the 2007-2010 presidential term.

[edit] See also

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