Still later, he was involved in the 1926 coup, that by degrees turned Portugal into an entrenched right-wing dictatorship. The decisive moment came in 1928 with the appointment of Salazar as Minister of Finance. Salazar went on to become Prime Minister in 1932 and established a Benito Mussolini-style corporate state, governed by 'non-party' specialists. One such specialist was Santos Costa, who became Under-Secretary of State (deputy Minister) of War in 1936, even though he still only held the junior rank of captain in the Army.