Francisco da Costa Gomes
Encyclopedia
Francisco da Costa Gomes, ComTE
Order of the Tower and Sword
The Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit is a Portuguese order of knighthood and the pinnacle of the Portuguese honours system. It was created by King Afonso V in 1459....

, GOA
Order of Aviz
The Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1910 Royal Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1789 Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz , previously Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz or Friars of Santa Maria of Évora, is a Portuguese Order of Chivalry...

(fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃku dɐ ˈkɔʃtɐ ˈɡomɨʃ; Chaves
Chaves (Portugal)
Chaves is a municipality and municipal seat of an area 10 km south of the Spanish border and 22 km south of Verín in the north of Portugal. The municipality is the second most populous of the district of Vila Real...

, 30 June 1914 – Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Lapa, 31 July 2001), was a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

 military officer and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, the 15th President of the Portuguese Republic
President of Portugal
Portugal has been a republic since 1910, and since that time the head of state has been the president, whose official title is President of the Portuguese Republic ....

 (the second after the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...

).

Life

He was born one of the eleven children of António José Gomes (Chaves, Santo Estêvão - Lisbon, Socorro, 1 July 1922) and wife (m. Chaves, 17 January 1901) and wife Idalina Júlia Monteiro da Costa (Chaves, 27 May 1880 - Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

, 18 February 1967),

On 8 December 1952, Gomes married Maria Estela Veloso de Antas Varajão (born 23 March 1927 in Viana do Castelo), daughter of João de Campos Varajão and his wife Angélica Martins Veloso (b. Barcelos
Barcelos, Portugal
Barcelos is a city in Barcelos Municipality in Braga District. The city has a population of 20,625.-History:Originally a Roman settlement, it expanded and became the seat of the First Duke of Bragança in the 15th century...

, Barcelos
Barcelos (parish)
Barcelos is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Barcelos. It has a population of 5,213 inhabitants and a total area of 1,20 km²....

), at the See of Viana do Castelo. The couple had only one son, Francisco da Costa Gomes.

Costa Gomes was involved in a revolutionary attempt in 1961 led by the Minister of Defense, General Botelho Moniz. In 1970 he occupied the post of Commander of the Military Region of Angola where he overhauled the chief-command and was the first to try to establish a military agreement with UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...

 against the MPLA and the FNLA.

On 12 September 1972 he was called back to Portugal to occupy the post of Chief of the Armed Forces, replacing General Venâncio Deslandes. However he was replaced in March 1974, a few days before the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, because he had refused to swear his loyalty to the President of the Council of Ministers Marcello Caetano in a public ceremony.

After the Revolution, he was one of the seven military leaders who made up the National Salvation Junta. Between 25 April and 30 September he was the second in command of the Portuguese state behind António de Spínola
António de Spínola
António Sebastião Ribeiro de Spínola , GCTE, ComA was a Portuguese soldier, conservative politician and author, who was important in the transition to democracy following the Portuguese Carnation...

.

He assumed the Presidency of the Republic when named by the Junta after the resignation of Spínola on September 30, 1974 and occupied the post until June 27, 1976 when in the first Presidential election the Portuguese chose General Ramalho Eanes to succeed him.

Personal

Gomes was one of eleven children of António José Gomes (Chaves
Chaves (Portugal)
Chaves is a municipality and municipal seat of an area 10 km south of the Spanish border and 22 km south of Verín in the north of Portugal. The municipality is the second most populous of the district of Vila Real...

, Santo Estêvão – Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Socorro, 1 July 1922) and wife (m. Chaves
Chaves (Portugal)
Chaves is a municipality and municipal seat of an area 10 km south of the Spanish border and 22 km south of Verín in the north of Portugal. The municipality is the second most populous of the district of Vila Real...

, 17 January 1901) and wife Idalina Júlia Monteiro da Costa (Chaves
Chaves (Portugal)
Chaves is a municipality and municipal seat of an area 10 km south of the Spanish border and 22 km south of Verín in the north of Portugal. The municipality is the second most populous of the district of Vila Real...

, 27 May 1880 – Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

, 18 February 1967)

See also

  • List of Presidents of Portugal
  • Estado Novo (Portugal)
  • History of Portugal
    History of Portugal
    The history of Portugal, a European and an Atlantic nation, dates back to the Early Middle Ages. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it ascended to the status of a world power during Europe's "Age of Discovery" as it built up a vast empire including possessions in South America, Africa, Asia and...

  • Timeline of Portuguese history (Second Republic)
    Timeline of Portuguese history (Second Republic)
    This is a historical timeline of Portugal.-1926:*May 27, The General Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa arrives at Braga with the purpose of initiating a Coup d'état....

  • Timeline of Portuguese history (Third Republic)
    Timeline of Portuguese history (Third Republic)
    This is a historical timeline of Portugal.-1974:*April 25, The Carnation Revolution puts an end to the authoritarian regime of Estado Novo...

  • Politics of Portugal
    Politics of Portugal
    Politics in Portugal take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The President of the Republic is the head of state and has several significant political powers, which he...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK