Hermes da Fonseca

His Excellency Marshal Hermes da Fonseca
President of Brazil
In office 15 November 1910 – 14 November 1914
Vice President	Venceslau Brás
Preceded by	Nilo Peçanha
Succeeded by	Venceslau Brás
Minister of the Superior Military Court
In office 18 December 1908 – 27 May 1909
Appointed by	Afonso Pena
Preceded by	Alexandrino Faria de Alencar
Succeeded by	José Maria Marinho da Silva
Minister of War
In office 15 November 1906 – 27 May 1908
President	Afonso Pena
Preceded by	Francisco Argolo
Succeeded by	Luís de Morais
Personal details
Born	(1855-05-12)12 May 1855 São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Empire of Brazil
Died	9 September 1923(1923-09-09) (aged 68) Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Political party	Conservative Republican
Spouse(s)	Orsina Francioni (m. 1878–1912; her death) Nair de Tefé (m. 1913–1923; his death)
Children	5
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Empire of Brazil (1871–89) Brazil (1889–1906)
Branch/service	Brazilian Army
Years of service	1871–1906
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands	Police Brigade of Rio de Janeiro
Battles/wars	Brazilian Naval Revolts

Hermes Rodrigues da Fonseca (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛʁmis ʁoˈdɾigis dɐ fõˈsekɐ]), (, 12 May 1855 - Petrópolis, 9 September 1923) was a Brazilian field marshal and politician who served as President of Brazil between 1910 and 1914. He was a nephew of Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, 1st President of Brazil, General , Patron of the Army Health Service, and the son of Marshal Hermes Ernesto da Fonseca and .

Early life[]

His father was a native of Alagoas and, while serving in the military, was transferred to São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, where Hermes was born, in 1855. When his father was sent for the Paraguayan War, the family returned to Rio de Janeiro.

Military career[]

In 1871, at the age of 16, he graduated with a degree in Science and Literature and joined the , where he was a student of Benjamin Constant Botelho de Magalhães, one of the introducers of the ideas of Auguste Comte in Brazil, and thus did not escape the influence of the master, although he did not become an orthodox positivist. When he graduated, he served as an assistant to Prince Gaston de Orléans, Count d'Eu.

He supported the proclamation of the Republic by his uncle Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca, and was invited by him to be a field assistant and military secretary after the seizure of power. In ten months, he went from captain to lieutenant colonel.^[1]

On the occasion of the Naval Rebellion of 1893, he stood out, in Niterói, in the command of the defense of the government of Floriano Peixoto. In 1894, he was promoted to colonel, in 1896 he commanded the , then was appointed head of the .^[1] He commanded the current Federal Capital Police Brigade , between 1899 and 1904, when he took command of the , which formed the officers of the army.

As commander of the Realengo Preparatory School in 1904, he repressed the Vaccine Revolt, a movement that, in the name of individual freedom, protested against the compulsory vaccination against smallpox, also translating the broader popular dissatisfaction with the regime. President Rodrigues Alves promoted him to marshal.

He held various government positions until he became Minister of War during the government of Afonso Pena (1906-1909), from November 15, 1906 to May 27, 1908. During his term, at the suggestion of the Baron of Rio Branco, he also sent officers for training in the German Empire, who, after returning to Brazil, became known as the .^[2] He also reformed the Army and Ministry with the creation of technical and administrative services. Of these innovations, the most important was the institution of compulsory military service, although this law was only legitimized with the Law No. 4,375 of August 17, 1964. Due to the discussion in the Chamber of Deputies about the participation of the military in the political life of the country, he resigned. He was later minister of the STM ().

1910 election[]

The party during the inauguration in 1910.

In November 1908, after returning from a trip to Germany, where he had witnessed military maneuvers as a guest of Kaiser Wilhelm II, he was nominated for presidential succession. He had the support of President Nilo Peçanha, who replaced Afonso Pena, and state representations at the National Congress, except for the benches of São Paulo and Bahia, who supported the name of Senator Rui Barbosa and the president of São Paulo as a vice-presidential candidate, and began the . It is strongly speculated by some historians that the Elections were forged by the TSE, and that in fact the winner was Ruy Barbosa.

References[]