*** Welcome to piglix ***

João Figueiredo

General
João Figueiredo
Figueiredo (colour).jpg
30th President of Brazil
In office
15 March 1979 – 15 March 1985
Vice President Aureliano Chaves
Preceded by Ernesto Geisel
Succeeded by José Sarney
Head of the National Intelligence Service
In office
15 March 1974 – 14 June 1978
Appointed by Ernesto Geisel
Preceded by Carlos Alberto da Fontoura
Succeeded by Otávio Aguiar de Medeiros
Chief Minister of the Military Cabinet
In office
20 October 1969 – 15 March 1974
President Emílio Médici
Preceded by Jaime Portela de Melo
Succeeded by Hugo de Abreu
Personal details
Born (1918-01-15)January 15, 1918
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died December 24, 1999(1999-12-24) (aged 81)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Resting place St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nationality Brazilian
Political party ARENA (1978–1979)
PDS (1979–1985)
Spouse(s) Dulce Maria de Guimarães Castro
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Brazil Brazil
Service/branch Coat of arms of the Brazilian Army.svg Brazilian Army
Years of service 1937–1979
Rank Army General

João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo (Portuguese: [ˈʒwɐ̃w̃ baˈt͡ʃistɐ dʒi oliˈvejɾɐ figejˈɾedu]; 15 January 1918 – 24 December 1999) was a Brazilian military leader and politician who held the office of 30th President of Brazil, the last of the military regime that ruled the country following the 1964 coup d'état. He was chief of the Secret Service (SNI) during the term of his predecessor, Ernesto Geisel, who appointed him to the presidency at the end of his own mandate. He took the oath of office on 15 March 1979, serving until 15 March 1985. He continued the process of redemocratization that Geisel had started and sanctioned a law decreeing amnesty for all political crimes committed during the regime. His term was marked by a severe economic crisis and growing dissatisfaction with the military rule, culminating in the Diretas Já protests of 1984, which clamored for direct elections for the Presidency, the last of which had taken place 24 years prior. Figueiredo opposed this and in 1984 Congress rejected the immediate return of direct elections, in favor of an indirect election by Congress, which was, nonetheless won by the opposition candidate Tancredo Neves. Figueiredo retired after the end of his term and died in 1999.

João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo was the son of General Euclides de Oliveira Figueiredo, who was exiled after an attempt to topple the Estado Novo regime of Getúlio Vargas in 1932. Two of his brothers were also generals. After studying at military schools of Porto Alegre and Realengo, Figueiredo was promoted to captain (1944) and to major (1952). He served in the Brazilian military mission in Paraguay (1955–1957) and worked for secret service of the Army General Staff (1959–1960). In 1961 he was transferred to the National Security Council. While teaching at the Army General Staff Command College (1961–1964), Figueiredo was promoted to colonel and appointed the department head in the National Information Service. In 1966 he assumed the command of public defense force in São Paulo. In 1967–1969 he commanded a regiment in Rio de Janeiro and was promoted to general. When General Emílio Garrastazú Médici assumed the presidency, Figueiredo was appointed head of the president's military staff (October 30, 1969 – March 15, 1974).


...
Wikipedia

...