António Maria Baptista

António Maria Baptista GCTE (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐ̃ˈtɔni.u mɐˈɾi.ɐ βaˈtiʃtɐ]; 5 January 1866 – 6 June 1920) was a Portuguese military officer and politician.[1]

António Maria Baptista
Minister for War
In office 30 March 1919 – 29 June 1919
Prime Minister	Domingos Pereira
Preceded by	António Maria de Freitas Soares
Succeeded by	Hélder Ribeiro
Minister for Interior (interim)
In office 20 April 1919 – 28 April 1919
Prime Minister	Domingos Pereira
Preceded by	Domingos Pereira
Succeeded by	Domingos Pereira
74th Prime Minister of Portugal (20th of the Republic)
In office 8 March 1920 – 6 June 1920
President	António José de Almeida
Preceded by	Domingos Pereira
Succeeded by	José Ramos Preto
Minister for Interior
In office 8 March 1920 – 6 June 1920
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Domingos Pereira
Succeeded by	João Pedroso de Lima
Personal details
Born	5 January 1866 Beja, Kingdom of Portugal
Died	6 June 1920 (aged 54) Lisbon, Portuguese Republic
Political party	Democratic Party
Occupation	Army officer (General)

When he was lieutenant, he fought in Portuguese Mozambique, during the wars of pacification against the Vátuas, led by Gungunhana. He was promoted to colonel in 1917. He fought the monarchist uprising of 1919, and was nominated Minister of War in the same year. He, then, distinguished himself during a series of violent strikes, and a year later was nominated and became President of the Ministry (Prime Minister), on 8 March 1920. He died suddenly while in office, after a Council of Ministers reunion, on 6 June 1920. He was posthumously promoted to general and was decorated with the Great-Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword (Ordem da Torre e Espada).

References

1. Pedro Figueiredo Leal, Manuel Baiôa: António Maria Baptista: O bejense que chefiou o Governo. In: Diario do Alentejo, March 11, 2020 (Portuguese).