António José de Ávila
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His Excellency The Duke of Ávila and Bolama |
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| 27th Prime Minister of Portugal | |
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In office 4 January 1868 – 22 July 1868 |
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| Monarch | Louis I of Portugal |
| Preceded by | Joaquim António de Aguiar |
| Succeeded by | Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, 1st Marquess of Sá da Bandeira |
| Majority | Independent |
| 32nd Prime Minister of Portugal | |
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In office 29 October 1870 – 13 September 1871 |
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| Monarch | Louis I of Portugal |
| Preceded by | Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo |
| Succeeded by | Fontes Pereira de Melo |
| Majority | Reformist Party (Portugal) |
| 34th Prime Minister of Portugal | |
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In office 6 March 1877 – 26 January 1878 |
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| Monarch | Louis I of Portugal |
| Preceded by | Fontes Pereira de Melo |
| Succeeded by | Fontes Pereira de Melo |
| Majority | Reformist Party (Portugal) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
António José de Ávila 8 March 1807 Horta, Azores, Portugal |
| Died | 3 May 1881 (aged 74) Lisbon, Portugal |
| Resting place | Prazeres Cemetery, Prazeres, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations |
Reformist |
| Relations | Joaquina Emerenciana (sister; c.1804) Maria do Carmo (sister; c.1815) Manuel José (brother; c.1817) |
| Alma mater | University of Coimbra |
| Occupation | Politician |
António José de Ávila (Matriz, Horta; 8 March 1807 – 3 May 1881) was a Portuguese politician, minister of the kingdom, mayor of the city of Horta, on the island of Faial, in the Azores, Civil Governor of the same, Peer-of-the-Realm, Minister of State, and later Ambassador to Spain.
António José was the son of Manuel José de Ávila, a modest merchant and administrator of the local tithes and his wife, D. Prudenciana Joaquina Cândida da Costa, who lived in a humble home on Rua de Santo Elias.
Of their ten children, only four survived to adulthood: António José was the oldest, his sister Joaquina Emerenciana (born in 1804), Maria do Carmo (born in 1815) and Manuel José (born in 1817). During António José's infancy the family's economic conditions improved substantially, enough that his father could provide him with sufficient funds to permit him to study off-island: a privilege that only a few families could provide their children.
After completing his local studies, he traveled to Coimbra to study at the University in 1822, receiving a bachelors degree in Philosophy in 1826. While at Coimbra he also frequented some courses in Mathematics and entered the first year studies in Medicine, but he did not show any particular interest in politics. During the Liberal Wars (1832–34) he returned to Horta (the liberal government-in-exile escaped to the Azores during this period), where he taught for several years before becoming a politician of some success. As mayor through D. Pedro's liberal regency, António José was instrumental in obtaining a new charter, that elevated Horta to the status of city (4 July 1833).
After the War (1834), Ávila was elected to the Cortes, beginning an active and uninterrupted career that would last for the next 47 years, in different positions, in parliamentary and governmental roles, as well as a period in the Chamber of Peers (taking on the leadership of the group from the Duke of Loulé, from 1872 until May 1881). He was, as his biographer once wrote: "...one of the more distinct parliamentarians in the history of Portuguese constitutionalism...". In actuality, in the 11 legislatures that he participated, during 27 years (between 1834–1861) he participated in 30 commissions in the Chamber of Deputies, and 40 in the Chamber of Peers (between 1861–1881); he was involved in 2000 interventions. He did not limit himself to representing the citizens of Horta; during his many years in parliament he represented populations in Évora, Beja, Estremadura, Beira Alta, Chaves, Vila Real and Oliveira de Azeméis.
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