Adhemar de Barros

Adhemar de Barros was a Brazilian politician and lawyer who was born in Piracicaba, Brazil, in 1901. He graduated in medicine from the University of Brazil in 1923 and studied in the United States and Europe, where he became an aviator. He joined the 1932 Constitutionalist Revolution against the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas and went into exile in Paraguay and Argentina. He returned to Brazil in 1934 and became a city councilor in São Paulo. He was appointed as the federal interventor in São Paulo by Vargas in 1938 and served until 1941. He founded the Social Progressive Party (PSP) and was elected governor of São Paulo in 1947 and 1962. He was also the mayor of São Paulo from 1957 to 1961. He ran for president in 1955 and 1960, but came in third place both times. He was known for his populist slogan "he steals but he gets things done" and for his public works, such as the Hospital das Clínicas and the São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport. He died of heart failure in Paris, France, in 1969. He was married to Leonor Mendes de Barros and had four children. He wrote several books on law, politics, and social justice.