João Chagas
Prime Minister of Portugal
In office 3 September 1911 – 12 November 1911[1]
President	Manuel de Arriaga
Preceded by	Provisional Government
Succeeded by	Augusto de Vasconcelos
Ambassador of Portugal to France
In office 25 April 1911 – 31 December 1923
Nominated by	Provisional Government
Preceded by	Tomás de Sousa Rosa
Succeeded by	António Joaquim Ferreira da Fonseca
Minister of the Interior
In office 3 September 1911 – 12 November 1911
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	António José de Almeida
Succeeded by	Silvestre Falcão
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 3 September 1911 – 12 October 1911
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Bernardino Machado
Succeeded by	Augusto de Vasconcelos
Personal details
Born	(1863-09-01)1 September 1863 Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil
Died	28 May 1925(1925-05-28) (aged 61) Estoril, Portugal
Political party	Portuguese Republican (1890–1911) Independent (1911–1925)
Occupation	Diplomat, editor, journalist, political analist, politician, writer
Signature

João Pinheiro Chagas (1 September 1863 – 28 May 1925; Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w piˈɲɐjɾu ˈʃaɣɐʃ]) was a Portuguese politician, literary critic, propagandist, editor, and journalist.^[2][3] He was heavily involved in several rebellions condemning the monarchy and disseminating materials via pamphlets and newspaper in support of the Portuguese Republican Party.^[4][5] He was among the leaders of the 5 October 1910 revolution and the Lisbon Regicide, and later served as Ambassador to Paris, and twice as interim prime minister of the Portuguese First Republic.^[4][6]

Chagas was born 1 September 1863 in Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil to João Pinheiro Chagas and Maria Amélia Rosa Pereira.^[4][7] His father was a Portuguese emigrant with ancestral ties to Portuguese refugees from Beiras who fled to Brazil during the Liberal Wars.^[8] On his paternal side, Manuel Pinheiro Chagas was his cousin and his son Mário was his first cousin once removed.^[8] His mother was an Indigenous American.^[8] The family relocated to Lisbon when Chagas was a child and he was orphaned at a young age.^[8][2]

Chagas could not afford to attend university, so he moved to Porto at age 16 and began his writing career.^[8][4] At times, he wrote under the pseudonym João Rimanso or Ivan.^[9] His first publication was in O Primeiro de Janeiro in Porto; he later moved back to Lisbon to collaborate with Temps, Correio da Manhã, and O Diá.^[4][10][8]

At the end of the 19th century, Chagas founded La Marseillaise (1896—1898), O Berro (1896), Branco e Negro (1896—1898), A Paródia (1900—1907), and A República Portuguesa,^[8][6] and became director of Brazilian newspaper O Paiz (1898) and the Portuguese publications A Lanterna (1899) and Batalha (1900).^[4][8] While incarcerated in Angola, he headed the prison's newspaper (1896—1897).^[8] La Marseillaise closed in 1898 due to censorship laws and Chagas' known allegiance to the Republican Party.^[8] When he returned from exile, he founded A Portuguesa (1893), which he considered a revival of La Marseillaise.^[6]

All of the newspapers he founded, directed, and contributed to were anti-monarchy propaganda tools; his articles were extremely controversial and led to him being arrested several times.^[6][5]

During his early years in Porto, he met and befriended several members of Life's Vanquished.^[6] He became more critical and more deeply involved with the Republican Party as a result.^[6] In 1891, he published an article in A República Portuguesa that was controversial enough to get him arrested and jailed for 10 days.^[7] Within days, he participated in and helped plan a rebellion, and his sentence was increased to 4 years in prison or 6 years in exile.^[6][4][11] Chagas was originally bound for Luanda but was transferred to Moçâmedes after one day.^[11] He escaped within a few months and traveled to Paris before returning to Portugal in 1892, where he was arrested again.^[11][7] While in prison, he continued to petition against governmental oppression of rights and wrote extensively about his experiences, making him the only primary source from a Portuguese prisoner from that period.^[11][6]

He was freed from prison in 1893 due to an amnesty resulting from the 1890 British Ultimatum.^[10] He lived in Porto, Brazil, and Madrid for varying lengths of time before being arrested again in 1896, and again in 1908 for his involvement in the Lisbon Regicide.^[8][6][7] He participated in the 5 October 1910 revolution not long after.^[10]

The Portuguese First Republic was established in 1910, and Chagas' governmental career began.^[6] His first role was an ambassador to Paris; he did, however, resign twice due to political disagreements with his supervisors.^[6][10] He served as both prime minister and Interior Minister for 70 days in late 1911 and again in 1915.^[4][10][2] While in Paris, he continued to keep a critical eye on Portugal's political decision-making.^[2] During the Republic's early days, Chagas met with Sir Lancelot Carnegie of Britain, Portuguese War Minister Freire de Andrade, and French diplomat Émile Daeschner to keep himself informed.^[2] He was very critical of Portugal's lack of involvement when World War I broke out and was one of the delegates who led the Republic to join the war in 1916.^[6][2]

Following the 1915 May 14 Revolt, Chagas was nominated to succeed Manuel de Arriaga's role as president of Portugal.^[6] Senator João José de Freitas disagreed with this decision and attempted to assassinated him.^[4] He shot several times at a car Chagas was traveling in with his wife in Entroncamento.^[4][10] Chagas' head was shaved and he lost an eye in the attack.^[10] He withdrew from politics during his recovery and turned down the presidential nomination, preferring instead to continue working as an ambassador in Paris.^[7][6] He kept this role until he retired in 1924, with the exception of 1917—1918 during the period of Sidónism.^[10][2][6] Chagas died on 28 May 1925 in Estoril, Cascais, Portugal.^[4][6]

He died of aortitis and is buried in the Alto de São João Cemetery.^[12]

Chagas served as part of the Portuguese delegation at the Versailles Peace Conference and the League of Nations.^[10][6] He was also a co-founder of the Portuguese Association of Journalists and the Porto Men of Letters, and became a Freemason in 1896.^[13][4] In 1919, he was awarded a Gold Cross from the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.^[6]

He is the namesake for a road in Lisbon and a garden in Porto.^[14][15]

During his lifetime, Chagas wrote at least 15 books and many more journal articles and pamphlets:^[5]

In 1929, four years after his death, Diario de João Chagas was published.^[5] He wrote the prefaces for Guedes d'Oliveira's 1890 Gazetilhas; and Luciano Fataça's 1895 A revolução de Cuba.^[5] He co-wrote Historia da revolta do Porto de 31 de Janeiro de 1891 (depoimento de dois cúmplices) with Ex-Tenente Coelho.^[5] He was also a translator; works included prose from Jacques Offenbach's operetta Os Bandidos and Adolphe d'Ennery's play Martyr.^[6][5]