Sidónio Pais

Sidónio Pais
Official portrait, 1918
4th President of Portugal
In office
9 May 1918  14 December 1918
Prime MinisterHimself (de facto)
Preceded byBernardino Machado
Succeeded byJoão do Canto e Castro
Prime Minister of Portugal
In office
11 December 1917  14 December 1918
PresidentCabinet (ex officio)
Himself (acting)
Preceded byRevolutionary Junta
Succeeded byJoão do Canto e Castro
President of the Revolutionary Junta
In office
8 December 1917  11 December 1917
PresidentBernardino Machado
Preceded byAfonso Costa (Prime Minister)
Succeeded byHimself (Prime Minister)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
11 December 1917  9 May 1918
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byRevolutionary Junta
Succeeded byFrancisco Xavier Esteves
Minister of War
In office
11 December 1917  9 May 1918
Prime MinisterHimself
Preceded byRevolutionary Junta
Succeeded byJoão Tamagnini Barbosa
Ambassador of Portugal to Germany
In office
17 September 1912  10 March 1916
Nominated byManuel de Arriaga
Preceded byViscount of Pindela
Succeeded byJosé Maria Lambertini Pinto
Minister of Finance
In office
12 November 1911  16 June 1912
Prime MinisterAugusto de Vasconcelos
Preceded byDuarte Leite
Succeeded byAntónio Vicente Ferreira
Minister of Commerce and Public Works
In office
4 September 1911  12 November 1911
Prime MinisterJoão Chagas
Preceded byManuel de Brito Camacho
Succeeded byEstêvão de Vasconcelos
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
15 June 1911  26 November 1912
ConstituencyAveiro
Personal details
Born
Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais

(1872-05-01)1 May 1872
Caminha, Kingdom of Portugal
Died14 December 1918(1918-12-14) (aged 46)
St. Joseph Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal
Manner of deathAssassination
Resting placeNational Pantheon, Lisbon, Portugal
Political partyNational Republican (Sidonist)
Spouse
Maria dos Prazeres Martins Bessa
(m. 1895)
RelationsBernardo Sassetti (great-grandson)
Children6
EducationLiceu de Viana do Castelo
Alma materMilitary Academy
University of Coimbra
Signature
NicknamePresident-King
Military service
Allegiance Portugal
Branch/service Portuguese Army
Years of service1888–1918
RankMajor

Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais CavC OA CavA (1 May 1872 14 December 1918) nicknamed "the President-King" (o Presidente-Rei), was the 4th president of Portugal, serving in 1918. A Portuguese politician, military officer, and diplomat he served as prime minister, minister of war and minister of foreign affairs from 1917 to 1918, minister of finance from 1911 to 1912, and minister of commerce and public works in 1911. His time in politics turned him into one of the most divisive figures in modern Portuguese history, having been referred to by writer Fernando Pessoa as the "President-King", a description that stuck in later years and symbolizes his regime. He is the only Portuguese president to have been assassinated, and the 3rd Portuguese head of state to die a violent death.