Geisel, Ernesto b.August 3, 1907; Bento Gonςalves, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil b. September 12, 1996; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The son of German emigrants who entered the Brazilian military, was promoted to general and finally became president of Brazil in 1974.
Ernesto Geisel’s father, Wilhelm August Geisel, left Herborn, Hesse, for Brazil in 1890 and worked as a teacher, first at a school in the Protestant community in Es- trela and later at a government school in Bento Gonςalves.
Ernesto and his brother, Orlando, attended the Escola Militar do Realengo, the military academy in Rio de Janeiro, and became officers in the Brazilian army. After the 1930 revolution, Geisel accepted the position of civilian administrator in the regional government of northeastern Brazil (1931—1934). Afterward, he reentered the military and was promoted to the rank of general in 1960. In 1964, Geisel participated in the military putsch against the government of President J. Goulart and was appointed head of the new military junta under its first ruler, Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco. Later, he became the president of the state-owned oil concern Petroleo Brasileiro Sociedade Anonima (PETROBRAS). While his brother, Orlando, took over the defense ministry in 1969, Ernesto was chosen president in 1974. Under his presidency (1974-1979), a slow and gradual transformation of society toward democracy occurred. This reform process ended in 1985 with the transfer of power from the military to democratically elected president Jose Sarney.Rene Gertz
See also Brazil
References and Further Reading
Castro, Celso, and Maria Celina Araujo, eds.
Dossie Geisel. Rio de Janeiro: Fundaςao Getulio Vargas, 2002.