José Baptista Pinheiro de Azevedo

Admiral José Baptista Pinheiro de Azevedo GCL (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ βaˈtiʃtɐ piˈɲɐjɾu ð(ɨ) ɐzɨˈveðu]; 5 June 1917 – 10 August 1983) was a Portuguese political figure, reformer and revolutionary. He helped overthrow Marcelo Caetano in 1974. He served as the 104th Prime Minister of Portugal between 19 September 1975 and 23 June 1976. He ran for president in 1976, and lost.

José Pinheiro de Azevedo
Prime Minister of Portugal
In office 19 September 1975 – 23 July 1976
President	Francisco da Costa Gomes
Preceded by	Vasco Gonçalves
Succeeded by	Mário Soares
Minister of National Defence
In office 19 September 1975 – 23 July 1976
Preceded by	Silvano Ribeiro
Succeeded by	Mário Firmino Miguel
Chief of the General Staff of the Navy
In office 26 April 1974 – 28 November 1975
Preceded by	Roboredo e Silva
Succeeded by	Sousa Leitão
Personal details
Born	5 June 1917 Luanda, Portuguese Angola
Died	10 August 1983 (aged 66) Lisbon, Portugal
Political party	Independent (before 1976) Christian Democracy (from 1976)
Alma mater	Portuguese Navy School
Occupation	Naval officer
Military service
Allegiance	Portugal
Branch/service	Portuguese Navy
Years of service	1937–1976
Rank	Admiral

Pinheiro de Azevedo was born on June 5, 1917 in Luanda, but moved to Portugal several years later. In the 1960s, he joined the Movement for Democratic Unity and was a supporter of the Presidential candidacies of José Norton de Matos, Manuel Quintão Meireles and Humberto Delgado.

Pinheiro de Azevedo served in the Portuguese Colonial War, as an admiral in charge of the maritime defense of Angola.

After the Revolution of April 25, 1974, he was appointed to the National Salvation Junta, and was committed to the cause of democratization in Portugal.

On August 29, 1975 he became Prime Minister of the Sixth Provisional Government replacing ousted Prime Minister Vasco Gonçalves.

At the end of his tenure as Prime Minister, he was replaced temporarily between June 23 and July 23, 1976, by Vasco Almeida e Costa, Minister of Internal Administration.

In 1976, Pinheiro de Azevedo ran as an independent for the Portuguese presidency.

Presidential Elections of 27 June 1976

Summary of the 27 June 1976 Portuguese presidential election results

Candidates		Supporting parties	First round
			Votes	%
	António Ramalho Eanes	Independent	2,967,137	61.59
	Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho	Independent	792,760	16.46
	José Pinheiro de Azevedo	Independent	692,147	14.37
	Octávio Rodrigues Pato	Portuguese Communist Party	365,586	7.59
Total valid			4,817,630	100.00
Blank ballots			43,242	0.89
Invalid ballots			20,253	0.41
Total (turnout 75.47%)			4,881,125
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

References