Tancredo Neves

About the Tancredo Neves

Tancredo de Almeida Neves (4 March 1910 – 21 April 1985) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and entrepreneur. He served as Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs from 1953 to 1954, President of the Council of Ministers from 1961 to 1962, Minister of Finance in 1962, and as Governor of Minas Gerais from 1983 to 1984. He was elected President of the Republic in 1985, but died before taking office.

He began his political career with the Progressistasof Minas Gerais, for whom he served as city councilman of Sao Joao del Rei from 1935 to 1937. He received the majority of votes and became President of the Municipal Legislature. He was elected state representativeand congressmanas a member of the Social Democratic Partywhich abolished all existing parties and the institution of bi-partisanship. He was later re-elected congressman several times between 1963 and 1979. After the re-institution of a multiparty system Neves became a senator as a member of the MDB in 1978 and founded the Popular Partywith which he continued to serve until 1982. He joined the Brazilian Democratic Movement Partythe following year and was elected governor of Minas Gerais where he served from 1983 to 1984. During this period, there was great political turmoil in favour of the movement known as Diretas Ja, a civil action that mobilized the youth and proclaimed direct elections for president. But with the defeat of the “Dante de Oliveira amendment”, mandated direct elections for president in 1984. Neves was chosen to represent the Democratic Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties.

In 1984, Neves ran for president with the help of Ulysses Guimaraes, and was elected President of Brazil on 15 January 1985 by the indirect voting of an electoral college. However, Neves fell gravely ill on the eve of his inauguration, 14 March 1985, and died 38 days afterwards. He died of diverticulitis and never assumed his position as president. While still ill, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit. Although he died before taking his post as president his name has been included in the gallery of Brazilian presidents according to law no 7.465/1986, passed on the first anniversary of his death. Neves was the last MineiroPresident to be elected in the 20th century.

Neves was one of the most important Brazilian politicians in the 20th century and one of the major statesmen of Brazilian history. In July 2012 he was elected one of the 100 Greatest Brazilians of All Time in a competition organized by Sistema Brasileiro de Televisaoand the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).