Arthur da Costa e Silva

Artur da Costa e Silva (aʁˈtuʁ dɐ ˈkɔstɐ i ˈsiwvɐ; 3 October 1899 – 17 December 1969) was a Brazilian Army Marshal and the second president of the Brazilian military government that came to power after the 1964 coup d'état. He reached the rank of Marshal of the Brazilian Army, and held the post of Minister of War in the military government of President Castelo Branco. During his term in office Institutional Act 5 was promulgated. This law gave the President powers to dismiss the National Congress, strip politicians of their offices of power, and institutionalize repressive methods of rule against left-wing parties and individuals. Costa e Silva's government started the most oppressive stage of the military regime against opposition, left-wing activists and suspected communists, which would be continued and expanded under his successor Emílio Garrastazu Médici. Costa e Silva was born in Taquari in Rio Grande do Sul state on 3 October 1899. While several sources erroneously suggest that Costa e Silva's parents were Portuguese from Madeira, both his parents were Brazilians, although one of his great-grandparents was a Portuguese immigrant from Lisbon. Costa e Silva began his military career by entering the Military College of Porto Alegre, where he finished first of his class and commander of the cadet corps. He then entered the Military School of Realengo in Rio de Janeiro in 1918, where he finished third of his class. Made an aspirant on January 18, 1921, he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1922 and was stationed with the 1st Infantry Regiment in Vila Militar until 5 July 1922, when he was involved in Tenentist rebellion and imprisoned for six months. He then married Iolanda Barbosa Costa e Silva, an officer's daughter. As part of a joint program, he was trained in the United States of America from January to June 1944, after having been an assistant instructor of general tactics at the School for Command and the Army General-Staff.