(born April 28, 1889, Vimierio, Port.—died July 27, 1970, Lisbon) Portuguese prime minister (1932–68). A professor of economics, he was appointed by Pres. António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona as finance minister (1928) and later prime minister (1932).
His new constitution established the authoritarian New State, curtailing political freedom and concentrating on economic recovery, and he thenceforth ruled as a virtual dictator. Sympathetic to Francisco Franco and the Axis Powers, he maintained Portugal's neutrality in World War II, and after the war he led Portugal into NATO. He greatly improved the country's transportation, utilities, and education systems. He fought to preserve Portugal's African colonies after the general decolonization. Incapacitated by a stroke in 1968 after 36 years in power, he was not told when he was replaced as prime minister.
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