 |
Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais
b. 1 May 1872, Caminha
d. 14 Dec 1918, Lisbon |
| Title: |
Presidente da Junta Revolucionária (President of the Revolutionary Junta) |
| Term: |
8 Dec 1917 - 11 Dec 1917 |
| Chronology: |
8 Dec 1917, appointed, proclamation of the Junta [1] |
| |
11 Dec 1917, Junta is superseded by the Ministry [2] |
| Title: |
Presidente do Ministério (President of the Ministry) |
| Term: |
11 Dec 1917 - 9 May 1918 |
| Chronology: |
11 Dec 1917, appointed, decree of the
Revolutionary Junta [2] |
| |
27 Dec 1917,
President of the Ministry is authorised to exercise the functions of President of the Republic, decree of the Government of the Republic [3] |
| |
9 May 1918, ceased to exercise the functions of President of the Ministry upon entering the office of President of the Republic |
| Title: |
Presidente da República (President of the Republic) |
| Term: |
9 May 1918 - 14 Dec 1918 |
| Chronology: |
8 May 1918, election to the office of President of the Republic is declared upon counting popular votes (cast 28 Apr 1918), session of the Comissão Central de Apuramento da Eleição do Presidente da República (Central Commission for Canvassing the Election of President of the Republic), Lisbon [4] |
| |
9 May 1918, assumed the functions of office on the next day after the proclamation of the results of election as required by Art. I of transitional provisions of the decree No. 3:997 of 30 Mar 1918, public ceremony, seat of municipal
council, Paços do Concelho (Town Hall), Lisbon [5][6] |
| |
14 Dec 1918, died (assassination) [7] |
| Biography: |
| Descended from a bourgeois family, whose head was a notary; attended Seminário Maior Episcopal de Coimbra (1885-1886); was educated at a lyceum in Viana do Castelo; enrolled in the University of Coimbra (1887); enlisted as a volunteer in the Army (1888), but given special permission to continue his university studies; released from service (1889); enrolled as student (1890-1892) in the artillery branch of the Escola do Exército (Army Academy) in Lisbon, graduating as second lieutenant (1892); served in various Artillery units (1893-1895); was promoted to first lieutenant (1895); re-admitted to the University of Coimbra (1895); received degree of bachelor (1897), with highest honors; continued his education earning the degrees of licentiate (1898), and doctor (1898), all in Applied Mathematics; declined to serve overseas in order to compete for a University faculty position (1898); became an instructor in Mathematics at the University of Coimbra, obtaining the chair of Differential and Integral Calculus (1904); further military promotion included: second captain (1906), captain (1911), major (1916); served as vice-rector of the University of Coimbra (1910-1911); elected president of the municipal committee of Coimbra (1910-1911); elected (1911) to the Assembleia Nacional Constituinte (National Constituent Assembly) as a deputy for Aveiro; served as minister of education (3 Sep 1911 - 12 Nov 1911) and minister of finance (12 Nov 1911 - 16 Jun 1912); appointed minister plenipotentiary to Germany (1912-1916); emerged as a leader of the coup d'état (5 Dec 1917 - 7 Dec 1917); president of the Revolutionary Junta (8 Dec 1917 - 11 Dec 1917); appointed President of the Ministry (11 Dec 1917 - 15 May 1918); set up authoritarian regime, pursuing the establishment of conservative republic; continuing in office as President of the Ministry, also assumed (27 Dec 1917) the functions of President of the Republic, while the office remained vacant; amended the law on separation of state and church (1918); promulgated amendments to the Constitution of 1911, granting universal suffrage and presidential form of government (30 Mar 1918); elected President of the Republic (28 Apr 1918) and entered the office on 9 May 1918; decreed the state of emergency (13 Oct 1918) in response to the acts of social disobedience; escaped an assassination attempt (5 Dec 1918); was fatally wounded as he entered the Rossio station in Lisbon and died shortly before midnight 14 Dec 1918. |
| Biographical sources: "Sidónio e Sidonismo", by Armando Malheiro da Silva (Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra/ Museu da Presidência da República, 2006), 2 vols. |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Popular vote (28 Apr 1918) |
| Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais |
468,275 |
| other candidates |
19 or fewer * |
| total number of electors entitled to vote |
660,396 |
|
| * The official results approved by the Comissão Central de Apuramento da Eleição do Presidente da República (Central Commission for Canvassing the Election of President of the Republic) excluded the votes from the constituencies of Aljezur, Peniche, Mangualde and the Portuguese overseas colonies, being unavailable at the time of counting and considered not sufficient to overcome the existing difference. Further details on the results of election are found in "Sidónio e Sidonismo", op. cit., 2:161-178. |
| Source of electoral results: Colecção das Ordens do Exército, 2.a Série, No. 9, 15 May 1918, pp. 465-467. |
| |
| [1] |
Diário do Governo, I Série, No. 215, 8 Dec 1917, 2nd Supplement. |
| [2] |
Diário do Governo, II Série, No. 289, 12 Dec 1917, Supplement. |
| [3] |
Diário do Governo, I Série, No. 226, 27 Dec 1917, Supplement. |
| [4] |
Colecção das Ordens do Exército, 2.a Série, No. 9, 15 May 1918, pp. 465-467. |
| [5] |
Diário do Governo, I Série, No. 63, 30 Mar 1918, pp. 292-307. |
| [6] |
A Capital. Diario Republicano da Noite, No. 2770, 9 May 1918, p. 1. |
| [7] |
According to official information, Sidónio Pais died at 23:55 14 Dec 1918 (Diário do Governo, I Série, No. 272, 15 Dec 1918, Decreto n.° 5:057: "Havendo sucumbido ontem, pelas vinte e três horas e cinqùenta e cinco minutos, a um abominável atentado, Sua Excelência o Presidente da República, Senhor Dr. Sidónio Pais; <...>") |
