1932 - 1932

António Oliveira Salazar is nominated President of the Council of Ministers

António de Oliveira Salazar (1889 -1970), a university professor, was called to take over the Finance Department in 1928, two years after the military coup in Portugal.

Although the 1926 revolution was led by the military, it was Salazar – a civilian – who dominated the political system for over four decades.

As President of the Council of Ministers and one year after taking office, he approved a new Constitution, that of the Estado Novo, which gave him dictatorial powers.

He died in 1970 after a period of mental disability, when he was no longer officially the leader of the country.

Image caption
Caricature of Salazar – Almada Negreiros’ vision in 1933
Image extracted from Fotobiografias Século XX/ António Oliveira Salazar/ Direcção de Joaquim Vieira/ Círculo de Leitores (2001)