António de Fragoso Carmona

António de Fragoso Carmona, number 10 in the Chronology of Presidents of Portugal, was born in Lisbon in 1869. He died in the same city on 18 April 1951. He was preceded by Gomes da Costa and followed by Craveiro Lopes. He was General Dictator of Portugal and then President. Not only a high level militar, he was already Minister of War in 1923. Carmona saw his chance of rising in power after the Revolution of the 28th May 1926. An election between the militars involved in the Fascist Revolution elected Carmona as the third temporary ruler, being the second Gomes da Costa and the first Mendes Cabeçadas. In 1927 he appointed Prof. António de Oliveira Salazar as Minister of Finances. After admiring his genius, Carmona made Salazar President of the Council in 1932 (Because of that, Salazar was now superior to Carmona). In 1933, with a new constitution of the "Estado Novo" in vigor, Carmona is finally made President of Portugal. Unlike his predecessor Gomes da Costa, Carmona wasn't a military leader who really fought in the battle: when the Portuguese went to Flanders in WWI, Carmona gave orders to his men and stayed in his office. However, this brutal personality seemed to disappear after 1933, when he became a mere object used by Salazar in official parties and inaugurations. Carmona no longer had something he had in his entire life: power. However, beside his slave appearance behind Salazar, Carmona played an important role during the popular revolts of 1935-6. Because the people were revolting against Salazar, Carmona calmed down the revolt by making speeches mentioning peace and security. He was now more sensitive. He did exactly the same thing during WWII to encourage the entire country with his attractive speeches. However, during the WWII, while reciting those speeches, he had tremendous fights with his superior, Salazar. In future years, Salazar would fire Craveiro Lopes, Carmona's successor, but he couldn't do the same thing with Carmona: while Craveiro Lopes was purely weak and defenseless, since he was a child Salazar heard terrible things about the brutal personality of Carmona: his fear remained. Carmona's charge as President ended with his death, in 1951. False elections made Higino Craveiro Lopes the new President. However, because he didn't have Carmona's potential, Salazar fired him and made another false elections to choose Admiral Americo Thomaz as the new military President. Carmona wrote the book "Prefácio" in 1928 and a book of rules to the Cavalry School 15 years before. Preceded by: Gomes da Costa Followed by: Higino Craveiro Lopes