Bernardino Machado: The Brazilian-born academic who twice led the Portuguese Republic

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Bernardino Machado was a prominent political figure who served as president of Portugal during two separate terms in the early 20th century. A scholar and former professor at Coimbra University, his career spanned the transition from monarchy to republic, marked by exile, diplomatic service, and deep involvement in national governance.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1851, Bernardino Machado moved to Portugal in 1860. He eventually became a distinguished academic at Coimbra University, where he began lecturing in 1877. His early political career was rooted in the monarchical system, serving as a deputy and a peer of the realm representing the university in the 1890s. However, his political alignment shifted significantly as he grew disillusioned with monarchical values, eventually joining the Portuguese Republican Party in 1903.

Machado’s rise within the nascent republic was rapid. After the 1910 proclamation of the republic, he served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and later became the first Portuguese ambassador to Brazil. His first presidential term, beginning in 1915, coincided with the turmoil of the First World War, during which he visited Portuguese troops on the Western Front. His tenure was cut short in 1917 by a military coup led by Sidónio Pais, which forced him into exile.

Returning to the presidency in 1925, Machado faced a volatile political climate that culminated in the military revolution of 28 May 1926. This event, which ended his second term, paved the way for the establishment of a military dictatorship and the eventual rise of the Estado Novo. Despite these political upheavals, Machado remained a significant, if contested, figure in Portuguese history until his death in 1944, having navigated the complex transition from a colonial power to a modern republic.

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