Júlio Carlos Alves Dias Botelho Moniz ( Lisbon, 12 October 1900 – Lisbon, 30 September 1970) was a Portuguese soldier and politician. Botelho Moniz owed his political and military career (Minister of the Interior and of Defence, Chief General of the Armed Forces, representative of the Portuguese Army, as an observer, on the East Front of the Second World War) to

Fernando Santos Costa Fernando dos Santos Costa (December 19, 1899 - October 15, 1982) was an officer of the Portuguese Army, who was a member of the Government of Salazar, from 1936 to 1958. In the Government, he held the offices of Under-Secretary of State of War (19 ...

's close protection.

Coup attempt

After his nomination as Minister of Defence (following Santos Costa in that position), Botelho Moniz became receptive towards the discontent felt by certain members of the military hierarchy against the Estado Novo regime. In the spring of 1961, he was one of the main participants in an aborted

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, ...

, also supported by the former President Craveiro Lopes and some of his colleagues. The attempt to overthrow

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the ...

failed because the "coup" was badly prepared, enabling the dictator to react promptly. Some believe that Botelho Moniz developed contacts with the

United States 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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, as the Americans, under President John F. Kennedy's new policy, were allegedly willing to discreetly support changes in the political orientation of the Portuguese administration.

Coup attempt

See also