Juscelino Kubitschek was elected President of Brazil in 1955. Upon taking office in January 1956, in fulfilment of his campaign pledge, he initiated the planning and construction of the new capital.
The following year an international jury selected Lúcio Costa's plan to guide the construction of Brazil's new capital, Brasilia. Costa was a student of the famous modernist architect Le Corbusier, and some of modernism's architecture features can be found in his plan.