Pascoal Ranieri Mazzilli (; 27 April 1910 – 21 April 1975) was a Brazilian politician who served as Federal Deputy from 1951 to 1967 and President of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

(speaker of the house) from 1958 to 1965. During his term as speaker of the house, he served twice as interim

president of Brazil The president of Brazil (), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil () or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the ...

for a few weeks, first in 1961, after the resignation of Jânio Quadros (as vice-president

João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (; 1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the president of Brazil from 1961 until a military coup d'état deposed him in 1964. He was considered the ...

was outside the country), and again in 1964, after Goulart, who had then succeeded him as president, was deposed in the military coup d'état of that year.

Life and career

Mazzilli was born at Caconde. His father was Domingos Mazzilli (born Domenico Mazzilli), an Italian from Montemurro,

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

, who immigrated to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1892, at the age of 15; his mother, Angela Liuzzi, was also from Montemurro and emigrated to Brazil in 1889 at the age of 2. As the son of poor immigrants Mazzilli had a modest childhood and began to work at an early age. Mazzilli entered the Faculty of Law of São Paulo in 1930 but did not complete his studies, working briefly as a tax collector in Taubaté. He fought in the Revolution of 1932, in São Paulo's side as a first lieutenant, soon promoted to captain in the Battalion Seven September, participating in the battle "Tunnel Front". After, in 1932, he began working as a journalist, specializing in financial matters. In 1940 he decided to continue his education, graduating from the School of Law of

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

( Fluminense Federal University) that same year. Mazzilli was the president of the

Chamber of Deputies of Brazil The Chamber of Deputies () is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The current presiden ...

between 1958 and 1965. He assumed the Presidency for two weeks in August 1961 after the resignation of Jânio Quadros because the vice-president

was on an official visit in China. Goulart was also prevented by the military from assuming the presidency, being later allowed to take over under parliamentary regime. As the historian Hélio Vianna noted, "It was Mr. Paschoal Ranieri Mazzilli the first child of non-Portuguese immigrants to occupy the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil". The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état removed Goulart from power permanently. On 1 April 1964, after the deposition of Goulart, Mazzilli assumed the presidency for a further two weeks before Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco took power through indirect elections. Due to the transitory nature of both administrations and the emergency situation that accompanied his two presidential terms, Mazzilli never played a relevant role in the Brazilian government, except in his conciliatory position, avoiding bloodshed in the 1964 military coup. According to Ranieri's nephew, Brazilian lawyer and law professor Hugo Nigro Mazzilli, his government was important to avoid "bloodshed" in the transition between democracy and dictatorship, and his uncle did not support the coup and faced his presidential moments as a constitutional imposition.

Global policy

He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution. As a result, for the first time in human history, a World Constituent Assembly convened to draft and adopt the Constitution for the Federation of Earth.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazzilli, Pascoal Ranieri 1910 births 1975 deaths São Paulo (state) politicians Brazilian people of Italian descent Social Democratic Party (Brazil, 1945–65) politicians Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians 20th-century presidents of Brazil Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) Military dictatorship in Brazil Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Candidates for Vice President of Brazil World Constitutional Convention call signatories Fluminense Federal University alumni