Filinto Strubing Müller (11 July 1900 – 11 July 1973) was a Brazilian politician who served as President of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the state of

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

. He was also Chief of Police of the then

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

during much of the government of

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

. He was killed in the crash of

Varig Flight 820 Varig Flight 820 was a flight of the Brazilian airline Varig that departed from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11 July 1973, for Orly Airport, in Paris, France. The plane, a Boeing 707, registration PP-VJZ, made an e ...

on July 11, 1973, on his 73rd birthday.

Early career

Müller joined the

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

at age 19, eventually becoming an officer who participated in the

Tenente revolts Tenentism () was a political philosophy of junior army officers (, , "lieutenants") who significantly contributed to the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 that ended the First Brazilian Republic. Background The first decades of the 20th century saw ...

. He was a close collaborator of Vargas since his rise to power in the

Brazilian Revolution of 1930 The Revolution of 1930 () was an armed insurrection across Brazil that ended the First Brazilian Republic, Old Republic. The revolution replaced incumbent president Washington Luís with defeated presidential candidate and revolutionary leader ...

, which led to him being installed as the Chief of Police of the original

in Rio de Janeiro. This gave him authority over all civilian police forces in Brazil.Smallman, Shawn C. Military Terror and Silence in Brazil, 1910-1945, ''Canadian Journal of Latin American Studies'', 1999, Vol. 24, No. 47, 1999. Before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was sympathetic to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, personally encouraging close cooperation between the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and Brazilian law enforcement.Hilton, Stanley E. ''Brazil and the Soviet Challenge, 1917-1947'', University of Texas Press, 1991. Pp. 117-118. Müller strongly opposed allowing Jewish refugees to enter Brazil prior to WWII and used police resources to monitor the activities of the Jewish Colonisation Association in the country. Also, he was one of the architects of the Estado Novo, which was characterized by the usage of large-scale torture (it is reported that sometimes he personally participated in torture sessions) and

summary execution In civil and military jurisprudence, summary execution is the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. The term results from the legal concept of summary justice to punish a summary offense, a ...

s against political opponents (mostly communists). He was dismissed from his post when Vargas switched sides, moving Brazil to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

against

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Senator

In 1945, he was one of the founders of the pro-Vargas Social Democracy Party. In 1947 he was elected Senator for the state of

. In 1950, he stood for the post of governor of the same state, but was defeated. He was reelected as senator in 1955 and 1962. In the Senate, he was a supporter of the Kubitschek government. After the military coup of 1964, he joined the pro-regime party

ARENA An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

, and soon became its leader. He was reelected Senator in 1970. In 1973, he became

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

Personal life

Müller was born in

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...

, Brazil in 1900. Müller was married to a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

woman named Consuelo de la Lastra, and they had two biological daughters: Maria Luiza Müller de Almeida (named after Consuelo's older sister, María Luísa de la Lastra), and Rita Julia Lastra Müller. Together, they adopted de la Lastra's niece, Argentinian-born María Luísa Beatriz del.

Death

Müller died on

in France while in office in 1973, on his 73rd birthday. The plane caught on fire, causing it to crash. After his death he was honored as a national hero. Filinto has since been honored publicly by several officials and intellectuals, among them

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. Kubitschek's government plan, dubbed "50 years i ...

and Ulysses Guimarães. On the same flight were his wife, Consuelo, and his grandson, Pedro, who was only sixteen at the time.

References

External links

Filinto Müller Biography at CPDOC FGV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Filinto 1900 births 1973 deaths Antisemitism in Brazil People from Cuiabá Social Democratic Party (Brazil, 1945–65) politicians National Renewal Alliance politicians Presidents of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Brazilian fascists Brazilian murderers Fascism in Brazil Far-right politics in Brazil Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1973 Politicide perpetrators Torturers