His Excellency Café Filho GCTE |
|
---|---|
18th President of Brazil | |
In office 24 August 1954 – 8 November 1955 |
|
Vice President | None |
Preceded by | Getúlio Vargas |
Succeeded by | Carlos Luz |
13th Vice President of Brazil | |
In office 31 January 1951 – 24 August 1954 |
|
President | Getúlio Vargas |
Preceded by | Nereu Ramos |
Succeeded by | João Goulart |
President of the Federal Senate | |
In office 31 January 1951 – 24 August 1954 |
|
Preceded by | Nereu Ramos |
Succeeded by | Marcondes Filho |
Personal details | |
Born |
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil |
February 3, 1899
Died | February 20, 1970 Rio de Janeiro, Guanabara, Brazil |
(aged 71)
Nationality | Brazilian |
Political party | Social Progressive |
Spouse(s) | Jandira Carvalho de Oliveira (m. 1931–1970) |
Children | Eduardo |
Profession | Journalist • lawyer • politician |
Religion | Presbyterian |
João Fernandes Campos Café Filho GCTE (Portuguese: [ˈʒuɐ̃w feɾˈnɐ̃dis ˈkɐ̃pus kaˈfɛ ˈfiʎu]; February 3, 1899 – February 20, 1970) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 18th President of Brazil, taking office upon the suicide of former President Getúlio Vargas. He was the first Protestant to occupy the position.
Café Filho, a lawyer, was born in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, February 3, 1899. He was the founder of the Jornal do Norte (1921), editor of the O Correio de Bezerros in the city of Bezerros, Pernambuco (1923), and director of the newspaper A Noite (1925), writing in the latter, articles in which he asked soldiers, corporals and young officers to refuse to fight the so-called "Coluna Prestes", which resulted in his conviction to three months in prison. He then escaped to Bahia in 1927, under the name of Senílson Pessoa Cavalcanti, but eventually returned to Natal, where he surrendered. In 1923, he ran for alderman in Natal, but failed.
He joined the Liberal Alliance and was one of the founders, in 1933, of the Social Nationalist Party of Rio Grande do Norte (PSN). Café Filho was elected federal deputy (1935-1937) and stood out for the defense of constitutional liberties. Threatened with arrest, sought asylum in Argentina, returning to Brazil in 1938. He founded, along with Ademar de Barros, the Progressive Republican Party (PRP), for which he was elected federal deputy again (1946-1950). Elected vice president by a coalition of parties that merged under the symbol Progressive Social Party (PSP), he assumed the presidency with the suicide of Getúlio Vargas, August 24, 1954.