 |
João do Canto e Castro Silva Antunes
b. 19 May 1862, Lisbon
d. 14 Mar 1934, Lisbon |
| Title: |
Presidente do Governo (President of the Government) |
| Term: |
15 Dec 1918 - 16 Dec 1918 |
| Chronology: |
15 Dec 1918, elected, meeting of the
Government, Paços do Governo da República, Lisbon [1] |
| |
16 Dec 1918,
assumption of the functions of Presidente da República by the Government (notionally from 23:55 14 Dec 1918) is confirmed by the Law No. 833 (Lei n.° 833), passed by the Câmara dos Deputados (Chamber of Deputies) and Senado at separate sessions of 16 Dec 1918 [2] |
| |
16 Dec 1918, ceased to exercise the functions of President of the Government upon entering the office of President of the Republic |
| Title: |
Presidente da República (President of the Republic) |
| Term: |
16 Dec 1918 - 5 Oct 1919 |
| Chronology: |
16 Dec 1918,
elected, session of the Congresso da República (Congress of the Republic), Palácio do Congresso (São Bento), Lisbon [3] |
| |
16 Dec 1918,
made an affirmation required by law at the ceremony of installation as President of the Republic, session of the Congress, Palácio do Congresso (São Bento), Lisbon [3] |
| |
5 Oct 1919,
expiration of term |
| Biography: |
| The son of a general; was educated at a Portuguese-British college; entered naval academy (1881); graduated with the rank of guarda-marinha (1883); promoted to second lieutenant (1887); served aboard the corvettes Bartolomeu Dias and Estefânia, frigate D. Fernando, transport África and gunboats Tâmega, Liberal and Zaire; visited Portuguese colonies Macao, Timor and Mozambique; briefly served as a military commander in Mozambique (1889-1890); participated in the commission for delimitation of boundaries of Congo (1890); promoted to first lieutenant (1891), taught at a Lisbon military academy; appointed (1892) governor of Mozambique, but was forced to return to Portugal on account of health problems; participated in suppressing the revolts of local population in Mozambique (1894); served as a governor of Moçâmedes (1895-1896); returned to navy and commanded the gunboats Diu and Vouga; elected to the Câmara dos Senhores Deputados (1908-1910); promoted to capitão-de-fragata (1910); appointed commander of the Leixões navy academy (1910) and head of the Navy Department of the North (1910); assigned command of cruiser Adamastor (1913), stationed in Macao, and made a long journey through Europe, Russia and China to assume the post; promoted to capitão-de-mar-e-guerra (1915); appointed commander of the navy artillery school aboard frigate D. Fernando; attained the rank of rear-admiral; served as director of service for the navy general staff (1918); secretary of state for navy (7 Sep 1918 - 23 Dec 1918) in the government of Sidónio Pais; elected President of the Government (15 Dec 1918) following the assassination of Sidónio Pais; elected (16 Dec 1918) by the Congress under the provisions of the 1911 Constitution, to complete the term of Bernardino Machado to 5 Oct 1919; faced a number of revolts, including the revolt calling for restoration of monarchy in Portugal led by Paiva Couceiro; losing the support of political groups, he submitted his resignation as President of the Republic on 3 Jun 1919, which was rejected by the Congress; returned to the navy after completion of presidential term; ended his military career with his promotion to full admiral (1919). Biography source: [4][5] |
| Biographical sources: "Os presidentes e os governos da república no século XX", by Alberto Laplaine Guimarães... [et al.] (Lisboa: Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda, 2000) ;
"Os Presidentes da República Portuguesa", coord. by António Costa Pinto and Maria Inácia Rezola (Lisboa: Temas & Debates, 2001) |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Vote (16 Dec 1918) |
| |
1st ballot |
2nd ballot |
| João do Canto e Castro Silva Antunes |
121 |
137 |
| José Carlos de Mascarenhas Relvas |
1 |
— |
| Basílio Teles |
1 |
— |
| Tomás António Garcia Rosado |
1 |
— |
| blank |
1 |
1 |
| total votes cast |
125 |
138 |
|
| Source of electoral results: Diario das Sessões do Congresso, Sessão N.° 26, em 16 de Dezembro de 1918, pp. 6-7. |
| |
| [1] |
Diário do Govêrno, Domingo 15 de Dezembro de 1918, I Série, Número 272: Proclamação: "<...> O Govêrno da República, nos termos do § 3.° do artigo 38.° da Constituìção, investiu-se na plenitude do Poder Executivo, elegeu para seu Presidente o Secretário de Estado da Marinha e interino dos Estrangeiros, Sr. Almirante João do Canto e Castro Silva Antunes..." |
| |
The election of Canto e Castro to the office of Presidente do Governo was carried out by the members of the government who notionally acted as the highest executive authority since the moment when Presidente da República Sidónio Pais died as a result of the assassination attempt (23:55 14 Dec 1918). The claim that the Government of the Republic was acting in accordance with Constitutional provisions ("nos termos do § 3.° do artigo 38.° da Constituìção") was hardly substantiated as the constitutional situation remained ambiguous until 16 Dec 1918 when both chambers of the national parliament restored the operation of the Constitution of 1911. |
| [2] |
Diário do Govêrno, Segunda-feira 16 de Dezembro de 1918, I Série, Número 273: Congresso da República, Lei n.° 833: "Art. 3.° Até a posse do Presidente da República, que o Congresso vai eleger, conforme o citado artigo 38.°, §§ 2.° e 3.°, são mantidos na plenitude do Poder Executivo os actuais Ministros ou Secretários de Estado, sob a Presidência do Ministro da Marinha e interino dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Sr. Almirante, João do Canto e Castro Silva Antunes." |
| [3] |
Diario das Sessões do Congresso, Sessão N.° 26, em 16 de Dezembro de 1918, pp. 6-7; Diário do Govêrno, Segunda-feira 30 de Dezembro de 1918, I Série, Número 282. Congresso da República, Proclamaçâo. |
