(1902-1976) President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, 1956-1961

Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira was born in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, on September 12, 1902. He moved to Belo Horizonte in 1921, where he studied medicine at the University of Minas. After graduating in 1927, he worked at the surgery clinic of the Santa Casa de Misericordia in Belo Horizonte and then studied for two years in hospitals in Paris, Vienna and Berlin. He returned to Brazil and established his own practice in Belo Horizonte, in 1931. That same year he married Sarah Luiza Gomes de Lemos.

Early Political Career

Kubitschek's political career began in 1934, when he was appointed chief-of-staff in the Minas Gerais state government by Governor Benedito Valaderes. That same year he was elected to the Federal Chamber of Deputies, where he served until President Getulio Vargas dissolved Congress in 1937, after which he returned to his medical practice.

In 1940, Governor Valaderes appointed Kubitschek Mayor of Belo Horizonte, in which position he served until 1945.

In 1945, Kubitschek was again elected to the Federal Chamber of Deputies, this time serving until his election as Governor of Minas Gerais.

As Governor (1951-1956), Kubitschek oversaw the building of new airports, schools, hospitals, health care units and other facilities all over the state.

President

In 1955, the Social Democratic Party nominated Kubitschek for President. Unlike previous presidential candidates, Kubitschek began his campaign in the country's interior, rather than in the big coastal cities. His campaign focused on improving Brazil's economy and infrastructure, and promised to move the nation's capital to the interior. The campaign was successful, and he took office on January 31, 1956.

Kubitschek began his massive Brazilian rebuilding program, which he called "50 years of progress in 5," almost immediately upon taking office. Immense public works programs were launched, including the construction of major highways, hydroelectric facilities, and public buildings. To stimulate industry tariffs were revised upward, foreign exchange was rationed to aid importation of needed capital goods, and the credit facilities of Banco do Brasil and National Economic Development Bank were made liberally available. The country's productive capacity soared, and Brazil became a major industrialized nation.

The most impressive program he oversaw, however, was the construction of an entirely new capital city, Brasilia, 700 miles in the interior. The city was constructed in four years, and the capital was officially moved several months before the end of his term.

Kubitschek's administration was also noted for being one of the most democratic in South America, with few restrictions on individual liberties. The country also enjoyed remarkable cultural development, including rapid growth of the publishing industry; the appearance of numerous new novelists, essayists, and poets, as well as composers, painters, and sculptors; and, for the first time ever, a new national legitimate theater came into existence, especially in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

On the foreign relations front, Kubitschek took the lead among Latin American nations by launching his proposal for Operation Pan America, a cooperative hemispheric program for Latin American development that served as a basis for the Alliance for Progress.

Kubitschek left office on January 31, 1961, and was succeeded by Janio Quadros.

Later Career

Soon after leaving the presidency Kutbitschek was elected Senator for the state of Goias.

In 1963, Kubitschek was asked by the Organization of American States to join with former OAS President Alberto Lleras Camargo of Colombia in a study of the functioning of the Alliance for Progress. Their recommendations resulted in establishment of the Inter-American Committee of the Alliance for Progress, which served as the supervisory body of the Alliance program for the rest of the decade.

In 1964, the military took control of the government. Kubitschek was stripped of his Senate seat and forbidden to hold any political office for ten years. After spending a few years in voluntary exile in the United States, he returned to Brazil in 1967 and became an entrepreneur.

Juscelino Kubitschek died in a car crash on the Rio-São Paulo Highway, 100 miles from Rio, on August 22, 1976.

The JK Memorial was inaugurated in Brasilia on September 12, 1981. His remains are interred there, and his private library and some personal objects are housed in a museum on the grounds.

Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport of Brasilia is named in his honor.

His daughter, Márcia Kubitschek, served in the National Congress in 1987 and as Vice-Governor of the Federal District, 1991-1994.

Questions or comments about this page?