Kaúlza de Oliveira de Arriaga, OA, GCC, OC, OIH (18 January 1915 – 2 February 2004) was a Portuguese general, writer, professor and politician. He was Secretary of State (junior minister) of the Air Force between 1953 and 1955 and commander of the Terrestrial Forces in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

from 1969 until 1974 during the

Mozambican War of Independence The Mozambican War of Independence ( pt, Guerra da Independência de Moçambique, 'War of Independence of Mozambique') was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO () and Portugal. The w ...

Ancestry

He was a son of Manuel dos Santos Lima de Arriaga Nunes (1885-1940), a sculptor and son of a medical doctor from

Pico Island Pico Island (''Ilha do Pico,'' ) is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid- ...

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, and his

Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese Brazilians ( pt, luso-brasileiros) are Brazilians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunities. Although present since t ...

wife, Felicidade Eugénia Martins de Oliveira (1894-1987), daughter and granddaughter of

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

s. The couple married in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

on 20 June 1914.

Career

Arriaga completed a degree in mathematics and engineering at the University of Porto and then volunteered for the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With it ...

on 1 November 1935. Taking a military and civil engineering course in the

Military Academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

which he graduated from in 1939, he was later assigned to the general staff of the Portuguese Institute of Military Studies. Here he petitioned for reforms to the

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

system, as well as training and the integration of

paratroopers A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

into the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

. Arriaga commanded, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the Portuguese forces in

from 1969 until 1974, taking over from General

António Augusto dos Santos António Augusto dos Santos (January 22, 1929 - October 13, 2004) was a Portuguese General and commander of the Portuguese forces in Mozambique from 1964 until he was relieved of command at the end of 1969. On the outbreak of the Mozambican War of ...

and organizing the Operation Nó Górdio ("Gordian Knot Operation") in 1970. This operation was the largest and most expensive military operation performed by the

Portuguese Armed Forces The Portuguese Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas) are the military of Portugal. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the other unified bodies and the three service branches: Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Army and Portuguese Air ...

during the entire

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

(1961-1974). Arriaga was a major political figure in the Estado Novo regime before the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

of 25 April 1974 in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, holding a number of public positions such as Head of the Ministry of Defense Cabinet, Secretary of State for Aeronautics, Professor of the Institute of High Military Studies, President of the Nuclear Energy Joint Commission and Executive President of the oil company Angol SA. In 1977 he founded MIRN, a right-wing political party, and was its chairman until the party's extinction after the

1980 Portuguese legislative election The 1980 Portuguese legislative election took place on 5 October. The election renewed all 250 members of the Assembly of the Republic. In January 1980, the Democratic Alliance, which had won the previous election, on 2 December 1979, entered ...

. He died from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

in 2004, in Lisbon.

Decorations

Arriaga received a number of awards and citations during his career, including: * PRT Military Order of Aviz - Officer BAR

Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

of the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz ( pt, Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis, ), previously to 1910 ''Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789 ''Knights'' (of ...

Grand Officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...

of the Order of Military Merit of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

of the Order of Christ * PRT Order of Christ - Grand Officer BAR

Grand Officer of the Order of Christ * Legion Honneur GO ribbon

Grand Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Officer BAR

Grand Officer of the

Order of Prince Henry (Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of t ...

Medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

of Aeronautical Merit of the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

Family

Arriaga married in

Reguengos de Monsaraz Reguengos de Monsaraz () is a municipality in Évora District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 10,828, in an area of 464.00 km2. The City of Reguengos de Monsaraz proper has a population of 7,308. The present Mayor is José Calixto, el ...

, at the Chapel of o Monte de São Mamede, on 19 May 1955 Maria do Carmo Fernandes Formigal (b. 1932), Dame Commander of the

, daughter of Mário Formigal (1899-1954), a landowner and son of another, and his wife (m. 1922) Maria Adelaide Rosado Fernandes (1903-1981), of a family of farmers and landowners in

Évora Évora ( , ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of 1307.08 km2. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo and serves as the seat of the Évora District. Due to its well-preserved old ...

, Alto Alentejo, by whom he had five children, including the second wife of former prime minister

Pedro Santana Lopes Pedro Miguel de Santana Lopes GCC (; born 29 June 1956) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician, who is the current president of the Municipal Chamber of Figueira da Foz. He most notably served as prime minister of Portugal from 2004 to 2005. ...

Published works

* '' Atomic Energy '' - 1949 * '' the Portuguese National Defense in Last the 40 years and the Future '' - 1966 * '' Some Nuclear Questions in Portugal '' - 1969 * '' Lições de estratégia de curso de altos comandos—1966/67 '' (Lessons Of Strategy in the Course of High Command, 1966/67), Vol. 12 (1971) * '' The Portuguese Answer '' - 1973 * '' Courage, Tenacity and Faith '' - 1973 * '' the National Conjuncture and My Position before the Moment Portuguese Politician '' - 1976 * '' In the way of the Solutions of the Future '' - 1977 * '' Africa - the Betrayed Victory '' (co-author) - 1977 * '' War and Politics - On behalf of the Decisive Truth, Years '' (two editions) - 1987 * '' Global Strategy '' - 1988 * '' Syntheses '' (two editions) - 1992 * '' Maastricht - 1992

References

External links

Kaúlza de Arriaga - website with published works and biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arriaga, Kaulza De 1915 births 2004 deaths People from Porto Portuguese generals Portuguese people of Brazilian descent Deaths from dementia in Portugal Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Mozambican War of Independence University of Porto alumni Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil) Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Knights of the Holy Sepulchre

Ancestry

Career

Decorations

Family

Published works

See also

References

External links