Tancredo Neves - Presidential Elections and Death

Presidential Elections and Death

In 1984, he was one of the leaders of the Diretas Já movement that demanded direct elections for President of Brazil. Neves was the opposition candidate to succeed President João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo.

The campaign for direct elections failed. There was no popular public vote. Neves was elected President by a majority of the Electoral College on January 15, 1985, where he received 480 votes.

However, on 14 March, on the last day of his predecessor's term and on the eve of his own inauguration, Neves became severely ill, requiring immediate surgery. He thus was not able to attend his own inauguration on 15 March. As the Constitution requires the President-elect and Vice-President-elect to take their oaths of office before the assembled National Congress, the inauguration was accordingly held only for Vice-President-elect José Sarney, who immediately became Acting President. At that time, there was still hope that Neves would recover and appear before the Congress to take the oath of office.

Neves suffered from abdominal complications and developed generalised infections, and after seven operations, he died on 21 April—more than a month after his term of office began, without ever having taken the oath of office. He was accordingly succeeded as President by Sarney.

Neves's death caused an outpouring of national grief and his ordeal was intensively covered by the Brazilian media and followed with anxiety by the whole nation, who had seen in him the way out of the authoritarian regime into what he had called a "New Republic" (Nova República). Tancredo Neves is still counted among the official list of presidents of Brazil as a matter of homage and honour, since despite not having taken the oath of office, he technically never became President. An Act of Congress was thus necessary to make this homage official. Accordingly on the first anniversary of his death, a statute was signed into law declaring that he should be counted among the Presidents of Brazil.

The Tancredo Neves International Airport in Belo Horizonte is named after him.


Political offices
Preceded by
João Figueiredo
President of Brazil (elect)
Died before assuming office – 1985
Succeeded by
José Sarney
Preceded by
Francelino Pereira dos Santos
Governor of Minas Gerais
1983–1984
Succeeded by
Hélio Carvalho Garcia

Read more about this topic:  Tancredo Neves

Famous quotes containing the words presidential, elections and/or death:

    Mr. Roosevelt, this is my principal request—it is almost the last request I shall ever make of anybody. Before you leave the presidential chair, recommend Congress to submit to the Legislatures a Constitutional Amendment which will enfranchise women, and thus take your place in history with Lincoln, the great emancipator. I beg of you not to close your term of office without doing this.
    Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)

    In my public statements I have earnestly urged that there rested upon government many responsibilities which affect the moral and spiritual welfare of our people. The participation of women in elections has produced a keener realization of the importance of these questions and has contributed to higher national ideals. Moreover, it is through them that our national ideals are ingrained in our children.
    Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)

    The death of a dear friend, wife, brother, lover, which seemed nothing but privation, somewhat later assumes the aspect of a guide or genius; for it commonly operates revolutions in our way of life, terminates an epoch of infancy or of youth which was waiting to be closed, breaks up a wonted occupation, or a household, or style of living, and allows for the formation of new ones more friendly to the growth of character.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)