Background
Eurico Gaspar Dutra was bron on May 18, 1885, in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Eurico Gaspar Dutra was bron on May 18, 1885, in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
He received his early education in the local schools, enlisted in the army at the age of 17, and was sent to military schools, receiving a lieutenant's commission in 1910.
He advanced steadily and by 1930, when Getulio Vargas assumed the presidency after a coup d'état, Dutra was able to throw valuable support behind him. In 1932 Dutra was made director of military aviation. Four years later Vargas appointed him minister of war and Dutra mechanized the army and built up its air corps. After the outbreak of war in Europe the Brazilian administration found itself in a difficult position. Because of the country's large number of Germans and Brazilians of German descent, there was considerable pro-Axis sentiment. As other Western Hemisphere nations swung gradually toward the Allied cause, however, Dutra and other influential army officers saw that Brazil must do likewise, and in 1942 the nation declared war against Germany. Dutra, as war minister, visited the United States in 1943, inspected important war plants, and consulted with the American general staff. He organized and led the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, which fought with other Allied troops in Italy. In 1945 President Vargas resigned and announced that he would support Dutra for his successor in the national elections scheduled for December of that year. Dutra was elected and was inaugurated in January 1946. With the adoption of a new constitution in September the Brazilian Congress was convened for the first time in nine years. As president, Dutra pursued a policy of hemisphere solidarity and close friendship with the United States. The Communist Party was outlawed by a decision of the Supreme Electoral Tribune on May 7, 1947, and its representatives were expelled from their positions in national, state, and municipal government. Dutra's Social Democratic Party, which gained control of Congress in the 1945 elections, sponsored measures for social betterment, including coordinated federal and state efforts to reduce illiteracy. In May 1949 Dutra visited the United States. The elections of October 3, 1950, returned Vargas to the presidency and he was inaugurated on January 31, 1951. Thereafter Dutra retired from public life.
Eurico was married to Carmela Teles Leite.