Francisco Craveiro Lopes

Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes GCTE ComC GCA (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɐ̃ˈsiʃku iˈʒinu kɾɐˈvɐjɾu ˈlɔpɨʃ]; 12 April 1894 – 2 September 1964) was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the 12th president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958.

Francisco Craveiro Lopes
GCTE ComC GCA GCB
President of Portugal
In office
9 August 1951 – 9 August 1958
Prime MinisterAntónio de Oliveira Salazar
Preceded byÓscar Carmona
Succeeded byAmérico Tomás
Governor of Portuguese India
Acting
17 September 1936 – 12 July 1938
PresidentÓscar Carmona
Preceded byJoão Carlos Craveiro Lopes
Succeeded byJosé Ricardo Pereira Cabral
Member of the National Assembly
In office
26 November 1945 – 18 June 1951
ConstituencyCoimbra
Personal details
Born
Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes

(1894-04-12)12 April 1894
Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal
Died2 September 1964(1964-09-02) (aged 70)
Lisbon, Portuguese Republic
Political partyNational Union
SpouseBerta da Costa Ribeiro Arthur
Children4
Alma materLisbon Polytechnic School
ProfessionAir force officer
AwardsOrder of Christ
Order of Aviz
Order of the Tower and Sword
Order of the Bath
Royal Victorian Chain
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Portugal
Branch/service Portuguese Air Force
Years of service1911–1964
RankMarshal of the air force
Commands
  • Tancos Air Base (1939)
  • Portuguese Legion (1944)
  • Air Base No. 4, on Terceira Island (1947)
  • 3rd Military Region, in Tomar (1951)
Battles/warsFirst World War

Early life and career

Born in Lisbon, he was a son of João Carlos Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese army general and 122nd Governor-General of Portuguese India (1929–1936) and his wife Júlia Clotilde Cristiano Salinas.

He concluded his Colégio Militar studies by 1911, having then entered the Escola Politécnica de Lisboa, in the same year he joined a cavalry regiment. He succeeded his father as the 123rd General Governor of Portuguese India (1936–1938).[1]

Presidency

Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar chose Craveiro Lopes as the regime's presidential candidate in 1951 to succeed the late Óscar Carmona. Initially, he was to run in what would have been only the second contested election of the Estado Novo, when naval officer Manuel Quintão Meireles filed to run against him. However, Quintão Meireles withdrew before election day, and Craveiro Lopes was elected unopposed.

Under the Constitution, the president was vested with near-dictatorial powers. In practice, Carmona had mostly turned over the government to Salazar. However, Craveiro Lopes was not willing to give Salazar the free hand that Carmona had given him. Despite this, he did not go as far as to dismiss Salazar; for all intents and purposes, the president's power to sack the prime minister was the only check on Salazar's power.

Nevertheless, Salazar picked the seemingly more pliant naval minister, Américo Tomás, as the regime's candidate in 1958. The Democratic Opposition then invited Craveiro Lopes to be their candidate, but he knew he stood no chance of winning and refused. The regime, however, as compensation promoted him to Marshal. He was involved in the failed military attempt to overthrow Salazar in 1961, led by the Defence Minister Júlio Botelho Moniz.

He died in Lisbon on 2 September 1964.

State visits

National honours

Foreign honours

Family

He married Berta Ribeiro Artur (Lisbon, Pena, 15 October 1899 – Lisbon, Santa Maria de Belém, 5 July 1958), natural daughter of Engineer Sezinando Ribeiro Artur (Lisbon, 1875 – Lourenço Marques, 1918) by Maria Clara Pereira, by whom he had four children.

Notes
  1. Portuguese: Medalha Militar da Cruz de Guerra – 1.ª Classe – In the center, a miniature war cross, surrounded by two branches of laurel, all in gold

References
  1. AJAX Club Bologna. "Goa 1510-1961".
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