Júlio Dantas, GCC (1876 – 25 May 1962) was a Portuguese doctor, poet, journalist, politician, diplomat and playwright.

Biography

Writing career

In 1902, Dantas published the one-act verse play '' A Ceia dos Cardeais'' (''The Dinner of the Cardinals''). In 1907, his one-act play ''Rosas de Todo o Ano'' (''Roses all the Year'') had its premiere in Lisbon. It was later translated into English by A. F. d'Almeida Carvalho and Mrs. Edward Lewis, and its 1912

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

debut was the first time a play translated from Portuguese had been performed in London. In 1931, one of his plays was adapted for the screen as '' A Severa'': it was one of the earliest

sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

s in Portuguese cinema. In 1947, he published the play ''Frei António das Chagas'' about a Portuguese soldier's conversion to becoming a mystic. Dantas was a friend of the politician Vitorino Guimarães, having dedicated the poem "A minha boneca" ("My Doll") to his daughter Elina Guimarães during her childhood.

Political and diplomatic career

Following the Bloody Night in October 1921 and Francisco Cunha Leal's appointment as prime minister, Dantas began serving as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

on 16 December 1921. With the collapse of António Maria da Silva's cabinet on 30 October 1923, António Ginestal Machado was made prime minister and Dantas was again appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on 15 November that year. He also served as

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

. During this period, the

First Portuguese Republic The First Portuguese Republic (; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the History of Portugal (1834-1910), period of constitutional monarchy ma ...

, he served as president of the Nationalist Republican Party. He later served as a delegate to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Other work

In 1936, Dantas was a founding member of the , which was created by the '' Estado Novo'' dictatorship as a way to instill a collective cultural history and memory in the country. In 1954, he headed a government commission to celebrate the centenary of

Almeida Garrett João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, 1st Viscount of Almeida Garrett (; 4 February 1799 – 9 December 1854) was a Portuguese poet, orator, playwright, novelist, journalist, politician, and a peer of the realm. A major promoter ...

's death. Dantas served as president of the

Lisbon Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of Lisbon () is Portugal's national academy dedicated to the advancement of sciences and learning, with the goal of promoting academic progress and prosperity in Portugal. It is one of Portugal's most prestigious scientif ...

Personal life

Dantas died on 25 May 1962 at the age of 86.

Legacy

According to Ronald Hilton, Dantas had established himself as the dominant figure of the Portuguese literary scene in the early twentieth century. However, his influence on younger generations of writers began to wane as he was considered "old-fashioned". In 1916, Dantas came under attack from

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

artist and writer Almada Negreiros through his '' Manifesto Anti-Dantas'', which employed a radical critique of contemporary Portuguese culture. Ignacio Infante wrote that Dantas was seen to represent an "older reactionary condition" which was keeping the Portuguese people in an alleged state of "cultural degradation".

Selected works by Dantas

Dramatic works

Theatre

*'' A Ceia dos Cardeais'' (''The Dinner of the Cardinals''; 1902) *''Rosas de Todo o Ano'' (''Roses all the Year''; premiered in 1907) *''Frei António das Chagas'' (1947)

Poetry collections

Prose

References

1876 births 1962 deaths 19th-century Portuguese writers 19th-century Portuguese male writers Portuguese male writers People from Lagos, Portugal Education ministers of Portugal Ministers of foreign affairs of Portugal Portuguese diplomats Nationalist Republican Party (Portugal) politicians {{Portugal-bio-stub