Itamar Franco

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Lore & Background

Itamar Franco was born prematurely at sea aboard a ship traveling between Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, and was registered in Salvador. His father died before his birth. On his father's side he was of partial German descent, and on his mother's side of Italian descent; his mother's name was Itália. He grew up in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, and became a civil engineer in 1955, graduating from the School of Engineering of Juiz de Fora, part of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. Franco entered politics in the mid-1950s, serving as alderman, deputy mayor, and mayor of Juiz de Fora. He was elected to the Federal Senate in 1974 and became a senior figure in the Brazilian Democratic Movement, the official opposition to the military regime. He was re-elected senator in 1982 and was a key figure in the failed initiative for immediate restoration of direct presidential elections. In 1989, he left the Liberal Party to join the National Reconstruction Party and became the running-mate of Fernando Collor de Mello, winning a narrow election against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. As vice president, Franco disagreed with Collor's economic policies and left the PRN in early 1992. After Collor's impeachment, Franco became acting president on 2 October 1992 and officially president on 29 December 1992. His presidency saw the implementation of the Plano Real, which controlled inflation, and a plebiscite that maintained the presidential republic. He resisted calls to shut down Congress in 1993 and offered to resign to call an earlier election, but Congress turned it down. After his presidency, he served as ambassador to Portugal and to the Organization of American States, and was later elected governor of Minas Gerais in 1998.

Reader's Guide

Itamar Franco's significance lies primarily in his role as president during a critical economic crisis, where his appointment of Fernando Henrique Cardoso as Finance Minister led to the Plano Real, which stabilized Brazil's economy and ended hyperinflation. His administration is credited with restoring integrity and stability after the troubled Collor presidency, and he maintained a reputation for honesty. The 1993 plebiscite he oversaw confirmed Brazil's presidential republic system, a decision he personally disagreed with as he preferred parliamentary government. Franco's foreign policy included launching the idea of a South American free trade zone and ratifying nonproliferation pacts. His post-presidency was marked by a shift to critic of Cardoso's government and a landslide election as governor of Minas Gerais, where he enacted a moratorium on state debt payments. Until Michel Temer in May 2016, Franco remained the last Brazilian president not elected as such.

Did You Know?

• Itamar Franco was born prematurely at sea aboard a ship traveling between Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.
• His mother's name was Itália, which means 'Italy' in Portuguese.
• When he became acting president in October 1992, polls showed the majority of the population did not know who he was.
• Moments before taking office as president, Franco handed senators a piece of paper listing his personal net worth and properties.
• Until Michel Temer in May 2016, Franco remained the last Brazilian president not elected as such.