António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (; ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman who served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He was responsible for the "Estado Novo" ("New State"), the corporatist authoritarian government that ruled Portugal until 1974. A trained economist, Salazar entered public life with the support of President Óscar Carmona after the Portuguese "coup d'état" of 28 May 1926, initially as finance minister and later as prime minister. Opposed to democracy, communism, socialism, anarchism and liberalism, the ideology of Portugal was conservative and nationalist in nature.
Bragança, Portugal who stimulated the commercial, artisanal and cereal markets in the region. After 60 years the Portuguese were able to end the Iberian Union with Spain. On 1 December 1640 the independence of Portugal was restored, allowing the ascension of the 8th Duke of Braganza (then military governor of Portugal) as King John IV. From 1640 to 1910 the House of Braganza was responsible for providing Portugal its kings and the two emperors of Brazil. The latter ruled from 1822 to 1889. The feudal castle of the dukes (built 1187) still remains. By the 18th century there were several crises and