Brazil |
This article is part of the series: |
|
General
|
Other countries · Atlas |
This is a list of Presidents of Brazil. For a complete list of Brazilians heads of state, see the list of Brazilian monarchs.
Contents |
In 1889 the Republic was proclaimed with a coup d'état led by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, who deposed the Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II and formed a provisional government. Two years later, in 1891, a constitution was written, based on the federal republic of the United States of America; the country itself was named the Republic of the United States of Brazil. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the presidents of the Republic were to be elected by direct popular ballot, but, for the first presidential term, the president and vice-president would be chosen by the Constituent Congress; the Constituent Congress was to elect the first president and vice-president immediately after the promulgation of the Constitution. In accordance with those transitional provisions, Congress elected Deodoro the first president of the Republic. His inauguration took place on 26 February, 1891, only two days after the promulgation of the Constitution. Deodoro resigned the presidency ten months later after a coup d'état in which he dissolved Congress was reversed. Then, Floriano Peixoto, Deodoro's vice-president and an opponent of the coup, was inaugurated. In 1894, Peixoto was succeeded by Prudente de Morais, the first president of Brazil to be elected by direct popular ballot. De Morais, who was the first president to be elected under the permanent provisions of the Constitution adopted in 1891, was also the first civilian to hold the office of president.
Although it was theoretically a constitutional democracy, the Old Republic was characterized by the power of regional oligarchies and the strict alternation 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 to vote due to literacy requirements.
In 1930, when Brazil was suffering the effects of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a revolution broke out in the country and the old republic ended. The president Washington Luís, who was supported by São Paulo oligarchies, broke the rule of alternation between São Paulo and Minas and supported a candidate who was also from São Paulo, Júlio Prestes. Prestes won the rigged election, but Washington Luís was deposed three weeks before the end of his term and Prestes was never inaugurated.
None (military) Federal Republican Party São Paulo Republican Party Mineiro Republican Party Rio Republican Party Republican Conservative Party
# | President | Picture | Elected | Took office | Left office | Political Party | Vice President(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deodoro da Fonseca | 1891 | (Head of the Provisional Government since 15 November 1889) 26 February 1891 |
23 November 1891[1] | None (military) | Floriano Peixoto | |
2 | Floriano Peixoto | — | 23 November 1891 | 14 November 1894 | None (military) | vacant | |
3 | Prudente de Morais | 1894 | 15 November 1894 | 14 November 1898 | Federal Republican Party (PR Fed) | Manuel Vitorino (PR Fed) |
|
4 | Campos Sales | 1898 | 15 November 1898 | 14 November 1902 | São Paulo Republican Party (PRP) | Rosa e Silva | |
5 | Rodrigues Alves | 1902 | 15 November 1902 | 14 November 1906 | São Paulo Republican Party (PRP) | Silviano Brandão (PRM) |
|
Afonso Pena (PRM) |
|||||||
6 | Afonso Pena | 1906 | 15 November 1906 | 14 June 1909[2] | Mineiro Republican Party (PRM) | Nilo Peçanha (PRF) |
|
7 | Nilo Peçanha | — | 14 June 1909 | 14 November 1910 | Rio Republican Party (PRF) | vacant | |
8 | Hermes da Fonseca | 1910 | 15 November 1910 | 14 November 1914 | Conservative Republican Party (PRC) | Venceslau Brás (PRM) |
|
9 | Venceslau Brás | 1914 | 15 November 1914 | 14 November 1918 | Mineiro Republican Party (PRM) | Urbano Santos | |
– | Rodrigues Alves | 1918 | Never took office.[3] | São Paulo Republican Party (PRP) | Delfim Moreira (PRM) |
||
10 | Delfim Moreira | — | (Acting President from 15 November 1918) 16 January 1919 |
28 July 1919[4] | Mineiro Republican Party (PRM) | vacant | |
11 | Epitácio Pessoa | 1919 | 28 July 1919 | 14 November 1922 | Mineiro Republican Party (PRM) | Delfim Moreira (PRM) |
|
Bueno de Paiva (PRM) |
|||||||
12 | Artur Bernardes | 1922 | 15 November 1922 | 14 November 1926 | Mineiro Republican Party (PRM) | Estacio Coimbra | |
13 | Washington Luís | 1926 | 15 November 1926 | 24 October 1930[5] | São Paulo Republican Party (PRP) | Melo Viana (PRM) |
|
– | Júlio Prestes | 1930 | Never took office.[6] | São Paulo Republican Party (PRP) | Vital Soares |
Liberal Alliance
# | President | Picture | Took office | Left office | Political Party | Vice President(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | Augusto Fragoso, Isaías de Noronha, and Mena Barreto |
24 October 1930 | 3 November 1930 | None (provisional military junta) |
vacant | |
14 | Getúlio Vargas[7] | (Head of the Provisional Government since 3 November 1930) 20 July 1934 |
29 October 1945 | Liberal Alliance (AL) | vacant[8] | |
15 | José Linhares | 29 October 1945 | 31 January 1946 | None[9] (President of the Supreme Federal Court) |
vacant |
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 won national elections for the first time, supporting Jânio Quadros, who himself was a member of a minor party allied to UDN. Quadros, who, before his election, rose meteorically in politics with an anti-corruption stance, unexpectedly resigned the presidency seven months later. Some historians suggest that Quadros was heavily drunk when he signed his resignation letter, while others suggest that Quadros felt that Congress would not accept his vice-president as president, and would ask for his return. Those historians, therefore, see Quadros' resignation as an attempt to return to office with increased powers and more political support. It is possible that both occurred: Quadros was drunk when he resigned, and in that state, he devised the plan to return to power by Congressional request. The plot failed: Congress simply received Quadros' letter, and amid the shock of politicians and of the Nation, the letter was accepted and the president was declared vacant. The president of Congress, Senator Auro de Moura Andrade, took the view that the deed of resignation was the province of the elected president, that it was not subject to a congressional vote, needing no confirmation, and that the president's declaration of resignation was final.
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. Goulart was out of the country, and Congress was controlled by right wing politicians. During Goulart's absence, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Ranieri Mazzilli, took office as acting president. There was then a plot to block the inauguration of the vice-president as president, but Congressional resistance to the inauguration of Goulart led to a reaction by the Governor of Rio Grande do Sul, who led a "legality campaign", and to a split in the military (that, during the second Republic, intervened heavily in politics). Amid the political crisis, the solution was the adoption by Congress of a Constitutional Amendment abolishing the presidential Executive and replacing it with a parliamentary system of Government. Under that negotiated solution, Goulart's inauguration was allowed to proceed, but Goulart would be Head of State only, and a prime minister approved by Congress would lead the government. The new system of government's continued existence was subject to popular approval in a referendum scheduled for 1963. The result of this referedum restored the presidential Executive and a military coup deposed Goulart in 1964, starting the military dictatorship.
Social Democratic Party Brazilian Labour Party (historical) National Labour Party
# | President | Picture | Elected | Took office | Left office | Political Party | Vice President(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 | Gaspar Dutra | 1945 | 31 January 1946 | 30 January 1951 | Social Democratic Party (PSD) (military) |
Nereu Ramos (PSD) |
|
17 | Getúlio Vargas | 1950 | 31 January 1951 | 24 August 1954[10] | Brazilian Labour Party (PTB) | Café Filho (PSP) |
|
18 | Café Filho | — | 24 August 1954 | (under leave of absence from 9 November 1955[11]) 30 January 1956 |
Progressive Social Party (PSP) | vacant | |
19 | Carlos Luz (Acting President for Café Filho[11]) |
— | 9 November 1955 | 11 November 1955[12] | Social Democratic Party (PSD) | vacant | |
20 | Nereu Ramos (Acting President for Café Filho[13]) |
— | 11 November 1955 | 30 January 1956 | Social Democratic Party (PSD) | vacant | |
21 | Juscelino Kubitschek | 1955 | 31 January 1956 | 30 January 1961 | Social Democratic Party (PSD) | João Goulart (PTB) |
|
22 | Jânio Quadros | 1960 | 31 January 1961 | 25 August 1961[14] | National Labour Party (PTN) | ||
23 | Ranieri Mazzilli (Acting President[15]) |
— | 25 August 1961 | 7 September 1961 | Social Democratic Party (PSD) | vacant | |
24 | João Goulart | — | 7 September 1961[16] | 1 April 1964[17] | Brazilian Labour Party (PTB) | vacant |
Social Democratic Party (abolished 1965)
National Renewal Alliance (later Democratic Social Party) Brazilian Democratic Movement
# | President | Picture | Took office | Left office | Political Party | Vice President(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 | Ranieri Mazzilli | 1 April 1964[18] | 15 April 1964 | Social Democratic Party (PSD) | vacant | |
26 | Castelo Branco | 15 April 1964 | 14 March 1967 | National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA) (military) |
José Maria Alkmin (PSD • ARENA[19]) |
|
27 | Costa e Silva | 15 March 1967 | 31 August 1969 (suspended due to ill health) 14 October 1969 (removed)[20] |
National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA) (military) |
Pedro Aleixo (ARENA) |
|
– | Augusto Rademaker, Aurélio de Lira, and Márcio Melo |
31 August 1969 | 30 October 1969 | None (military junta) |
vacant | |
28 | Emilio Medici | 30 October 1969 | 14 March 1974 | National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA) (military) |
Augusto Rademaker (ARENA) |
|
29 | Ernesto Geisel | 15 March 1974 | 14 March 1979 | National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA) (military) |
Adalberto Pereira dos Santos (ARENA) |
|
30 | João Figueiredo | 15 March 1979 | 14 March 1985 | Democratic Social Party (PDS) (military) |
Aureliano Chaves (Democratic Social Party (PDS) |
In the early 1980s the military government started a process of gradual political opening, called abertura, the final goal of which was democracy. When the term of the last military president was to end, however, no direct elections for president took place. For the election of the country's first civilian president since the military coup of 1964, the military maintained the rule that prevailed during the dictatorial regime, according to which an Electoral College made up of the entire National Congress and representatives from State Assemblies was to elect the president. This time, however, the Military placed the Electoral College under no coercion, so that its members would be free to select the president of their choice.
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 (and the successor of the MDB Party, that had opposed the Military Regime since its inception), but Tancredo was also supported by a large political spectrum, even including a significant part of former members of ARENA, the party that supported the military presidents. In the last months of the military regime, a large section of ARENA members defected from the Party, and now professed to be men of democratic inclinations. They formed the Liberal Front, and the Liberal Front Party allied itself to PMDB, forming a coalition known as the Democratic Alliance. PMDB needed the Liberal Front's support in order to secure victory in the Electoral College. In the formation of this broad coalition former members of ARENA also switched parties and joined PMDB. So, to seal this arrangement, the spot of vice-president in Tancredo Neves' ticket was given to José Sarney, who represented the former supporters of the regime that had now joined the Democratic Alliance.
On the other hand, those who remained loyal to the military regime and its legacy renamed ARENA as the PDS, and put forward the name of Paulo Maluf as candidate for president. Tancredo's coalition defeated Maluf, and his election was hailed as the dawn of a New Republic.
Although elected president, Tancredo became gravely ill on the eve of his inauguration and died without ever taking office. Therefore, the first civilian president since 1964 was Tancredo's running mate, José Sarney, himself an ex-member of ARENA. José Saynery's administration fulfilled Tancredo's campaign promise of passing a constitutional amendment to the Constitution inherited from the military regime, so as to summon elections for a National Constituent Assembly with full powers to draft and adopt a new Constitution for the country, to replace the authoritarian legislation that still remained in place.
In October 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-year term - the first president to be elected by direct popular ballot since the military coup. He was inaugurated in 1990 and in 1992 he became the first president in Brazil to be impeached due to corruption. A Constitutional Amendment passed in 1993 reduced the presidential term of office of future presidents from five to four years.
In 1995, Fernando Henrique Cardoso was inaugurated for a four-year term. In 1997 a Constitutional Amendment was passed allowing presidents of Brazil to be reelected to one consecutive term. In 1998, then President Fernando Henrique Cardoso became first president of Brazil to be reelected for an immediately consecutive term. In 2003 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated. He was reelected in 2006. In 2011 Dilma Rousseff became Brazil's first woman president.
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party Party of the National Reconstruction
Brazilian Social Democratic Party Liberal Front Party Workers' Party Brazilian Republican Party
# | President | Portrait | Elected | Took office | Left office | Political Party | Vice President(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | Tancredo Neves | 1985 | Never took office.[21] | Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) | José Sarney (PMDB) |
||
31 | José Sarney | — | (Acting President from 15 March 1985) 21 April 1985 |
14 March 1990 | Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) | vacant | |
32 | Fernando Collor | 1989 | 15 March 1990 | (suspended on 2 October 1992[22]) 29 December 1992 |
Party of the National Reconstruction (PRN) | Itamar Franco (PRN • PMDB[23]) |
|
33 | Itamar Franco | — | (Acting President from 2 October 1992) 29 December 1992 |
31 December 1994 | Democratic Movement Party (PMDB)[23] | vacant | |
34 | Fernando Henrique Cardoso | 1994 1998 |
1 January 1995 | 31 December 2002 | Social Democracy Party (PSDB) | Marco Maciel (PFL) |
|
35 | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | 2002 2006 |
1 January 2003 | 31 December 2010 | Workers' Party (PT) | José Alencar (PRB) |
|
36 | Dilma Rousseff | 2010 | 1 January 2011 | Incumbent | Workers' Party (PT) | Michel Temer (PMDB) |
|