António de Oliveira Salazar

António de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970), Portuguese economist and statesman, who ruled (1932-1968) Portugal as a dictator.

Salazar was born on April 28, 1889, near the town of Santa Comba Dão, and was educated at the University of Coimbra. He became (1914) a lecturer in economics at the University of Coimbra and attained (1918) the rank of professor. Soon after a military junta headed by General António de Fragoso Carmona seized (1926) control of Portugal's government, Salazar was offered the post of finance minister to reform the nation's chaotic economy. He turned down the post when his demands for extraordinary powers were refused. In 1928, however, upon being promised some measure of extra power, he accepted the appointment. Within a year he balanced the national budget and soon afterwards liquidated the entire foreign debt. He was appointed Prime Minister in 1932; during the next 36 years he was the virtual dictator of Portugal. In 1933 he promulgated a constitution for his “New State”, which established Portugal as a corporative state with a one-party government. In addition to holding the portfolio of finance minister until 1940, he served as minister of war (1936-1944), of foreign affairs (1936-1947), and of defence (1961-1962).

Salazar maintained his position by obtaining the support of wealthy landowners, bankers, and industrialists and by suppressing trade unions, the press, and all political opposition with the aid of his security police. In addition to resisting social and political change at home, he sent large numbers of troops to Portuguese possessions in Africa to stem the tide of rising nationalism. Salazar held the national economy stable, however, and under his rule Portugal enjoyed moderate prosperity. He supported General Francisco Franco, later dictator of Spain, in the Spanish Civil War, and after the war the two leaders often met to discuss political questions. Salazar kept Portugal neutral during World War II. He was a strong supporter of the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1940 he signed a concordat with the Vatican that restored property confiscated from the Church by a previous government. He suffered a stroke in 1968 and was replaced as prime minister, although this fact was withheld from him during the two years that he survived. He died in Lisbon on July 27, 1970.