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Manuel Gomes da Costa

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"Gomes da Costa" redirects here. For the Portuguese footballer, seeGomes da Costa (footballer).
In thisPortuguese name,the first or maternalfamily nameisde Oliveira Gomesand the second or paternal family name isda Costa.
His ExcellencyMarshal
Manuel Gomes da Costa
GOAGOTEGCA
Gomes da Costa in 1918
President of Portugal
In office
17 June 1926[1]– 9 July 1926
Preceded byJosé Mendes Cabeçadas
Succeeded byÓscar Carmona
Prime Minister of Portugal
In office
17 June 1926 – 9 July 1926
Preceded byJosé Mendes Cabeçadas
Succeeded byÓscar Carmona
Ministerial offices
1926–1926Acting Minister of the Interior
1926–1926Minister of the Interior
1926–1926Minister of War
1926–1926Acting Minister of the Colonies
1926–1926Minister-designate of Agriculture
Personal details
Born
Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa

(1863-01-14)14 January 1863
Lisbon,Portugal
Died17 December 1929(1929-12-17)(aged 66)
Lisbon, Portugal
Political partyIndependent
SpouseHenriqueta Mira Godinho
OccupationMilitary officer(General,posthumouslyMarshal)
Signature
Military service
AllegiancePortuguese Second Republic

Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da CostaGOA,GOTE,GCA,commonly known asManuel Gomes da Costa(Portuguese pronunciation:[mɐnuˈɛlˈɣomɨʒðɐˈkɔʃtɐ]) or justGomes da Costa(14 January 1863 – 17 December 1929), was aPortuguese armyofficerandpolitician,thetenthpresident of Portugaland the second of theNational Dictatorship.

Gomes da Costa had a distinguished military career in the country'scolonies,from 1893 to 1915, inIndia,Mozambique,Angola,andSão Tomé,having served under the command ofMouzinho de Albuquerque.AfterWorld War I,in which he rose to greater prominence in the command of the1st Divisionof thePortuguese Expeditionary Corps,he became actively engaged in politics, in staunch opposition to thedominantDemocratic Party.

In 1926, he was involved in the military and political movement that resulted in the28 May 1926 coup d'étatthat inaugurated a newconservative, authoritarian regime.Following the military coup, Gomes da Costa deposed moderateJosé Mendes Cabeçadas,who had received executive and presidential power from the removed Prime MinisterAntónio Maria da Silvaand PresidentBernardino Machado,briefly holding the headship of government and of state in the summer of that year, until he was himself removed by another coup, to be replaced byÓscar Carmona.

Early life

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Gomes da Costa was born to Carlos Dias da Costa and Madalena de Oliveira; he grew up with two younger siblings, Lucrécia and Amália. He began his military career at theColégio Militarat age 10.

GeneralsTamagniniand Gomes da Costa, together with GeneralHaking.

Military career

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As a soldier, he stood out in colonial campaigns in theAfricanandIndiancolonies. After Portugal had entered theFirst World War(See:Portugal in the Great War) on the Allied side in early 1917, he commanded the Second Division of thePortuguese Expeditionary Corps.During theBattle of the Lyson 9 April 1918, the CEP lost 400 dead and around 6,500 prisoners, a third of its forces in the front line. Gomes da Costa's division was hit particularly hard and was all but wiped out.[2]

For his command in the war, he was made ageneraland a Grand Officer of the Military Order of Avis.[3]Two years later, on 5 October 1921, he received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Avis.[4]

Gomes da Costa and his troops march victorious into Lisbon on 6 June 1926.

Revolution

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A convinced monarchist, Gomes da Costa had consorted with people of various political convictions. That, and his reputation as a soldier, led to his choice by right-wing revolutionaries to lead the28 May 1926 coup d'étatinBragathat overthrew thePortuguese First Republic,after GeneralAlves Roçadas,their original choice, had fallen fatally ill.

After the success of the revolution he did not assume power at first, entrusting the posts of President of the Republic and President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) toJosé Mendes Cabeçadas,the leader of the revolution inLisbon.Soon the coup leaders disliked the attitude of Mendes Cabeçadas, a choice of the previous presidentBernardino Machadoand still sympathetic towards the old republic.[5]He was replaced by Gomes da Costa in both posts in a meeting inSacavémon 17 June 1926. The new government was the first to include the later prime minister and dictator of Portugal,Antonio de Oliveira Salazar,as finance minister.

Overthrow and exile

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Gomes da Costa's government lasted about as long as Cabeçadas', because it was overthrown by a new coup on 9 July the same year. This attempt was initiated byJoão José Sinel de CordesandÓscar Carmona,after Gomes da Costa attempted to have Carmona removed as minister for foreign affairs.[6]Although more conservative than Cabeçadas, Gomes da Costa had no desire to institute a long-term military regime, which brought him into conflict with Carmona and others in the most conservative and authoritarian faction of the military leadership.

Carmona succeeded Gomes da Costa as President of the Republic and of the Council of Ministers under the pretext that Gomes da Costa was "unfit for office." Gomes da Costa wasexiledto theAzores Islands,but also promoted toMarshalof thePortuguese Army.[7]In September 1927, he returned to mainlandPortugal,already very ill; he died a few months later.

Personal life

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On 15 May 1885 inPenamacorGomes da Costa married Henriqueta Júlia de Mira Godinho (Lagos,Santa Maria, 1863–1936), by whom he had three children. Gomes da Costa was the father-in-law ofPedro Francisco Massano de Amorim,Governor of Gaza, Angola, Mozambique and India.

Statue in Braga

Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Braga, Paulo Drumond (2010)."Os Presidentes da República Portuguesa: sociologia de uma função".
  2. ^Rodrigues, H."Portugal in the Great War".France at War.Archived fromthe originalon 4 October 2013.Retrieved2 October2013.
  3. ^Gomes da Costa in Artigos de apoio Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2016. Accessed 28 December 2016.
  4. ^Presidência da República Portuguesa.Accessed November 28, 2014.
  5. ^Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses (2016).Salazar. A Political Biography.New York: Enigma Books, p. 31.
  6. ^Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses (2016).Salazar. A Political Biography.New York: Enigma Books, pp. 31-32.
  7. ^Gomes da Costa in Artigos de apoio Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2016. Accessed 28 December 2016.
  8. ^abc"Cidadãos Nacionais Agraciados com Ordens".Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas.Retrieved28 January2017.
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Media related toGomes da Costaat Wikimedia Commons

Political offices
Preceded by Presidentand
Prime Minister of Portugal
1926 		Succeeded by
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