António de Oliveira Salazar, born on 28 April 1889, in Santa Comba
Dão, Kingdom of Portugal, was a Dictator of Portugal.
António Salazar held power in Portugal for an incredible 40 years,
only giving it up after he became too ill to continue in 1968.
Salazar rose to power after the 1926 military
coup. He was initially asked to be the Finance Minister but refused the
position after he wasn't given the full control of the country's finances. In
1928 General Antonio Oscar de Fragoso Carmona offered him the position again,
this time giving him full control and Salazar accepted. His economic policies
were successful in balancing the budget for the first time since 1910 and he
became Prime Minister in 1932. In the same year he introduced a new
constitution the Estado Novo or New State, bringing it in 1933.
Under Salazar's control Portugal supported other
nationalist and fascist governments particularly Francisco Franco’s
in Spain. However, Portugal remained neutral during WWII. Salazar refused to
give up Portugal's foreign territories throughout his dictatorship and although
forced to give up Goa in India, brutally repressed unrest that began in 1961 in
Angola.
Aligning
with the Catholic Church Salazar's government repressed opposition parties and
was criticized for keeping his people poor and illiterate till a stroke and ill
health ended his dictatorship. He was replaced by Marcello Caetano as Prime
Minister.
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