Alberto, João (1897–1955)

João Alberto (b. 16 June 1897; d. 26 January 1955), prominent Brazilian political figure. As a young artillery officer, Alberto participated in the Prestes Column that traversed Brazil's interior during much of the 1920s. Alberto eventually broke with Prestes, joining the Revolution of 1930 that brought Getúlio Vargas to power. Appointed federal intervenor in São Paulo by Vargas in 1930, Alberto served less than a year in the post. In 1932 he was appointed chief of police in the Federal District, where he created the special police to repress groups and individuals opposed to Vargas. Alberto was elected to the National Constituent Assembly the following year as a representative from Pernambuco, affiliated with the Social Democratic Party (PSD). In 1935 Alberto entered the diplomatic service, discharging various duties in Europe and the Americas until 1942. With Brazil's entry in World War II, Alberto led the Coordenação da Mobilização Econômica, a newly created superministry tasked with wartime economic planning and industrial-policy formulation. Following the progressive weakening of Vargas's Estado Novo in 1944, Alberto once again led the Federal District police forces, until Vargas was removed from power in 1945. Vargas's return to the presidency in 1951 occasioned Alberto's return to government service in various positions, most prominently as the Brazilian representative to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

See alsoBrazil, Revolutions: Revolution of 1930; Prestes Column.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thomas E. Skidmore, Politics in Brazil, 1930–1964 (1967).

Israel Beloch and Alzira Alves De Abreu, eds., Dicionário histórico-biográfico brasileiro, 1930–1983 (1984).

                                         William Summerhill