| Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás | |
|---|---|
| Américo Tomás | |
| 13th President of Portugal | |
| In office August 9, 1958 – April 25, 1974 (15 years, 259 days) |
|
| Prime Minister | António de Oliveira Salazar Marcello Caetano |
| Preceded by | Francisco Craveiro Lopes |
| Succeeded by | António de Spínola |
| Minister for the Navy | |
| In office September 6, 1944 – August 14, 1958 |
|
| Prime Minister | António de Oliveira Salazar |
| Preceded by | Mesquita Guimarães |
| Succeeded by | Mendonça Dias |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 19, 1894 Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Died | 18 September 1987 (aged 92) Cascais, Portuguese Republic |
| Political party | National Union |
| Spouse(s) | Gertrudes Ribeiro da Costa, Mrs. Thomaz |
| Children | Maria Natália and Maria Madalena |
| Occupation | Navy Officer(Rear Admiral) |
Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás, GCC, GOA, GOSE (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐˈmɛɾiku dɨ ˈdewʃ ʁuˈdɾiɡɨʃ tuˈmaʃ]), archaic spelling: Américo Thomaz, (Lisbon, November 19, 1894 - Cascais, September 18, 1987) was a Portuguese admiral and politician. He was the 13th 13th President of Portugal.
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Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás was born in Lisbon in November, 9, 1894 from António Rodrigues Tomás and Maria da Assunção Marques.
He married in October, 1922 with Gertrudes Ribeiro da Costa. The couple had issue, Maria Natália Rodrigues Tomás (1925) and Maria Madalena Rodrigues Tomás (1930)
He joined the High-School of Lapa, in 1904, and completed his secondary education in 1911. He attended the Faculty of Sciences for two years, between 1912 and 1914, when he joined the Naval Academy as a midshipman.
In 1916, after graduated from the Naval Academyand during World War I, he was placed the Portuguese coat escort service on Vasco da Gama and then in the Pedro Nunes and the destroyers Douro and Tejo.[1]
In 1918 is promoted to Lieutenant.
On March 17, 1920 he his placed on the Survey vessel 5 de Outubro, where he serve in the next sixteen years. During this time he was also the Survey mission of the Portuguese Coast and Board Member of the Technical commission for hydrography, Navigation and nautical Meteorology and the Council for Studies of Oceanography and Fisheries and expert of the International Permanent Council for the Exploration of the Sea.[2]
He was appointed chief of staff to the Minister of the Navy in 1936, President of the Merchant Marine National Junta from 1940 to 1944 and Minister of the Navy 1944 to 1958.
During his term as Ministry of the Navy, he was responsible for the total reconstruction of the Portuguese commercial navy organized under the famous Dispatch 100 under which were order 56 ships with more than 300 000 tons of displacement, statute that also allow the formation of the modern shipbuilding industry in Portugal. This action led to the fact that in marine terms, unlike the rest of the Portuguese society, the name of Admiral Américo Tomás is still today highly respected.
In 1958 he was chosen by Salazar has the candidate of União Nacional to the presidency of the republic, due to its completely loyalty to Salazar. He run the campaign against the opposition backed Humberto Delgado. In an Highly contested election he was elected president of the Portuguese Republic.[3] He was re-elected in 1965 and 1972 (in an electoral college. Not in a general election has in 1958). During this time, Portugal was ruled by the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar and the president of the republic had only a figurative role. The virtual powerlessness of his office under Salazar, made him a decorative figure in inaugurations and festivities, together with a natural inability for speech, made him target of frequent jokes.
Tomás used his presidential prerogative just once: to dismiss Salazar when he became incapacitated by a severe stroke in September, 1968. Tomás appointed Marcello Caetano to replace Salazar as prime minister. He took a much more active role in the government after Caetano took power, and became the rallying point for hard-liners who thought that even Caetano's cosmetic reforms went too far.
Tomás, while President of the Republic and unlike his predecessor, always lived in his private residence, only using the Belém Palace for office and official ceremonies.
When on April 25, 1974, the "Carnation Revolution" deposed Caetano, Tomás was also overthrown and sent to exile in Brazil.[4]
He was allowed to return to Portugal in 1980, but he was denied the readmission in the Portuguese Navy and the special pension scheme currently in place for former Presidents of the Republic.
In September 18, 1987, Americo Tomás died, at 92 in a Cascais clinic from complications after a surgery
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Francisco Craveiro Lopes |
President of Portugal 1958-1974 |
Succeeded by António de Spínola) |
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