Golbery do Couto e Silva

Golbery do Couto e Silva was a Brazilian general and politician, who served as the chief of staff of the presidency from 1974 to 1981, under presidents Ernesto Geisel and João Figueiredo. He was born on 21 August 1911 in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, to a wealthy and influential family. He graduated from the military command college and served in the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in Italy during World War II. He was also a professor at the Higher War College and the head of the National Security Council under Jânio Quadros. He was one of the main architects of the 1964 military coup that overthrew João Goulart and established a dictatorship in Brazil. He created and headed the National Intelligence Service, a powerful and secretive agency that coordinated the repression and surveillance of political opponents. He was also involved in the creation of the Institutional Act Number Five, which suspended civil rights and gave the president absolute power. He lost influence during the hard-line administrations of Artur da Costa e Silva and Emílio Médici, but returned to power under Geisel, who initiated a gradual and controlled process of political opening. Golbery was the main adviser and strategist of Geisel and Figueiredo, and played a key role in the negotiations with the opposition parties, the media, and the civil society. He also supported the amnesty law that granted pardon to political prisoners and exiles. He resigned in 1981, after a scandal involving the SNI and the hard-liners in the government. He died on 18 September 1987, at the age of 76, from a heart attack. He is regarded as one of the most influential and controversial figures in Brazilian history, praised for his intelligence and pragmatism, but also criticized for his involvement in the coup and the dictatorship.