João Pinheiro Chagas

João Pinheiro Chagas (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1 September 1863 - Estoril, 28 May 1925; Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w̃ piˈɲɐjɾu ˈʃaɡɐʃ]) was a Portuguese journalist and politician. He was born in Brazil, from Portuguese parents who soon moved back to Portugal. He was an editor at the newspapers "O Primeiro de Janeiro", "Correio do Norte", "O Tempo" and "O Dia". After becoming a republican, he also founded the "República Portuguesa" and was the director of "O País" (1898).

Fierce republican

The monarchist government's reaction to the British ultimatum of January 1890 that forced Portugal to renounce its extravagant claims to the territories that lay between Angola and Mozambique, made him a fierce republican and one of Portugal's most fervent anti-monarchy journalists and propagandists.

Political career

After the proclamation of the republic, on 5 October 1910, he was appointed minister in Paris, and, the following year, after the end of the term of the provisional government, he was chosen to lead the first constitutional government of the Portuguese First Republic. That government was in power for only two months, from 4 September to 13 November 1911. This was a sad prelude to the political instability of the First Republic. On 17 May 1915, he was appointed again President of the Ministry (Prime Minister), but he didn't take office. He remained a diplomat until his retirement in 1923.