Manuel de Arriaga

Born in Horta on Faial Island in the Azores in 1840, Manuel de Arriaga studied law at the University of Coimbra and became known as a lawyer, intellectual, and committed republican. Although he came from a family with aristocratic roots, he took part in the republican movement that grew stronger in Portugal in the late nineteenth century.

After the fall of the monarchy in 1910, he took on major roles in the new regime, including service as attorney-general, and in 1911 he was elected the first president of the Portuguese Republic. His presidency lasted until 1915, during a period marked by deep political instability and constant tension inside the young republic.

Arriaga is remembered as an important figure of Portugal's First Republic: a man associated with civic ideals, legal training, and the difficult early years of republican government. He died in 1917, but his name remains closely tied to the country’s transition from monarchy to republic.