General João Figueiredo |
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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 |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
January 15, 1918
Died | December 24, 1999 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
(aged 81)
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 |
Service/branch | 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).