João do Canto e Castro

João do Canto e Castro da Silva Antunes [ you ʒu̯ɐu̯ kɐtu i kaʃtɾu dɐ siɫvɐ ɐtunɨʃ ] ( born May 19, 1862 in Lisbon, † March 14, 1934 ) was a Portuguese admiral and politician, 1918-1919 President of the First Republic in Portugal.

Life

1881 occurs do Canto e Castro in the Portuguese Navy and first attended the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1883. From 1887 to 1889, he serves on the gunboat " Zaire ", whose command he holds the end and traveled to Macao, Portuguese Timor and Mozambique.

In 1892, he is the district governor of Lourenço Marques, today's Maputo, this item must but soon give up due to illness. 1893 he was commander of the ship, should be with the João Chagas, a journalist who later became the first Prime Minister of the Republic, and was banished to the colonies because of his republican ideas, was transported to Angola. He then takes over again his governorship in Lourenço Marques and stands out in the defense of the town against uprisings of the indigenous African population.

Canto e Castro was then governor in Angola, again commander of a gunboat, the Diu, and chief of a naval school, a post he retains even after the Revolution of 1910, which ended the Portuguese monarchy.

In 1918, he acts as Secretary of the Navy in the government of Sidónio Pais. When he is murdered on 14 December 1918 do Canto e Castro enters provisionally to his successor. The old, suspended from Pais constitution is re-enacted, and thus the separation of the offices abolished by Pais the President and the Government. João de Sousa Barbosa Tamagnini becomes the new Prime Minister, while do Canto e Castro is chosen as the non-partisan compromise candidate by the Portuguese Parliament president.

The approximately 300 days, the Canto e Castro was in office, fell into a domestically extremely turbulent time. In Santarém, a radical - democratic republican rebellion broke out, a wave of strikes paralyzed the country, Parliament was split and no longer able to form a governing majority, so that Canto e Castro in the short time he was in office, four had to appoint the Prime Minister.

To most dangerous challenge during his tenure, however, a monarchist uprising under Captain de Paiva Couceiro who exclaimed the reintroduction of the monarchy. While Canto e Castro himself was open supporters of the monarchy, but he was not willing to break his contributions made on the republican constitution oath of office, so that he was not recognized by de Paiva Couceiro and his followers as head of state.

Due to the intractable domestic political situation explains Canto e Castro already in June 1919 his resignation, but can be persuaded by the Parliament, initially to remain in office. In October, he then passes back yet, the Parliament elects António José de Almeida as his successor.

After his resignation, Canto e Castro was promoted to Admiral and afterwards serves as chairman of the Upper Board, the Portuguese Navy.

João do Canto e Castro was once married and had three children.