Your American History Reference Guide!
- Debian

HistoryMania Information Site on Debian American History American History Search        American History Browse welcome to our free resource site for all enthusiasts!

Sidónio Pais

Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais (Coimbra, 1 May 1872 - Lisbon, 14 December 1918), was a Portuguese politician, President in 1918. He was known as the President-King.

He was an army officer and taught Mathematics at the Army school, and later, at the University of Coimbra. He became a member of Parliament in 1911, and would be Minister of Finance for a short period. He was ambassador in Berlin from 1912 until 1916, when Portugal joined the First World War on the Allied side. He was a Germanophile.

On December 5 1917, he led a coup d'état, and imposed an authoritorian regime. He was proclaimed President two weeks later, and elected on direct elections on April 28 1918.

His short period in office has seen a warming of Church-State relations, the extension of the electoral franchise, and the smashing defeat of the ill-prepared Portuguese troops at La Lys , in France.

He escaped a first assassination attempt, but was shot on December 14 1918, at Rossio railway station, in Lisbon, when he was preparing to board a train to Oporto, in order to quell a rebellion.

Last updated: 08-02-2005 23:07:26
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy
Search | Browse | Contact | Legal info