Francisco Craveiro Lopes


Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958.

Early life and career

Born in Lisbon, he was a son of, Portuguese army general and governor-general of Portuguese India, and his wife Júlia Clotilde Cristiano Salinas.
He concluded his Colégio Militar studies by 1911, having then entered the Escola Politécnica de Lisboa, in the same year he joined a cavalry regiment. He succeeded his father as the 123rd General Governor of Portuguese India.
Lopez served as the commander of the Portuguese volunteer forces during the Spanish Civil War.

Presidency

Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar chose Craveiro Lopes as the regime's presidential candidate in 1951 to succeed the late Óscar Carmona. Initially, he was to run in what would have been only the second contested election of the Estado Novo, when naval officer Manuel Quintão Meireles filed to run against him. However, Quintão Meireles withdrew before election day, and Craveiro Lopes was elected unopposed.
Under the Constitution, the president was vested with near-dictatorial powers. In practice, Carmona had mostly turned over the government to Salazar. However, Craveiro Lopes was not willing to give Salazar the free hand that Carmona had given him. Despite this, he did not go as far as to dismiss Salazar; for all intents and purposes, the president's power to sack the prime minister was the only check on Salazar's power.
Nevertheless, Salazar picked the seemingly more pliant naval minister, Américo Tomás, as the regime's candidate in 1958. The Democratic Opposition then invited Craveiro Lopes to be their candidate, but he knew he stood no chance of winning and refused. The regime, however, as compensation promoted him to Marshal. He was involved in the failed military attempt to overthrow Salazar in 1961, led by the Defence Minister Júlio Botelho Moniz.
He died in Lisbon on 2 September 1964.

State visits

National honours

Craveeiro received the following national honours:
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Foreign honours

Craveeiro received the following foreign honours:

Family

He married Berta Ribeiro Artur, natural daughter of Engineer Sezinando Ribeiro Artur by Maria Clara Pereira, by whom he had four children.